


NOVA

by landminecat



Series: NOVA [3]
Category: Tom Clancy's The Division
Genre: Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Conspiracy Theories, Division Agents, Fix-It, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, International Conspiracy, It makes more sense in context, James Dragov is a Doom fan, NOVA (new fraction), Other, Politics, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rogue Agents, Technobabble, The hunters - Freeform, Warlords of New York, basically my idea on what the Hunters are, comparing kaiju to the Dollar Flu, it also makes more sense in context, lore heavy, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:33:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 74,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26338813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/landminecat/pseuds/landminecat
Summary: Half a year after the events of „The Breach” Haven has settled into the new order of things nicely, especially with the help of its most prominent partners. Unfortunately, the status quo can only last so long - especially when the Hunters set out to eliminate as many Division agents as possible and Paul Rhodes gets involuntarily pulled into the conflict once again, along with Nova and all of its allies.In other words - my take on who the Hunters are.----This work is now COMPLETE! I'm so excited, you guys have no idea. Thank you so much for your support with this. It means the world to me.
Relationships: James Dragov & Original Female Character, James Dragov & Original Male Character, Javier Kajika & Original Male Character, Original Male Character & Original Female Character, Paul Rhodes & Alani Kelso, Paul Rhodes & Original Female Character, Theo Parnell/Original Female Character
Series: NOVA [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873543
Comments: 26
Kudos: 9





	1. Voices

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a continuation to "The Breach" for quite a while and I have been working on this for the last few weeks, so here you go! Hopefully it's going to be just as engaging as the first part. The character balance has been shifted a little and the story will be focusing on the ones that were secondary characters in the first part as I have grown to love and adore them a lot. Please let me know what you think!
> 
> This can be read as a stand-alone story but is a direct continuation of The Breach, where you can find character backgrounds and how they got together to create Nova.

Sitting at his desk in Haven’s only remaining office, Paul Rhodes hid his face in his hands and groaned deeply, trying to will away the headache that has been haunting him ever since he got the call from Kelso. He promised himself that he would never associate himself with SHD ever again, that he would never talk to them. And yet they were so persistent and so hard to just ignore. Truth be told, he did appreciate Kelso’s resolve and her resourcefulness back when they used to work together. She was still SHD, that’s true, but it didn’t change who she was as a person. Lau was always a red flag for him, but Kelso was different. So he decided to take the call after all and well, he should have known he was going to regret it.

He should have also known it wasn’t going to be easy. Nova has been growing steadily for the past half a year and hell, he had no idea the plan was actually going to work. They had resources, they had good people, they had soldiers. Thanks to those they were able to help where SHD never could. The Division’s fall from grace was hard, but he couldn’t deny that the ideals behind the organization were always noble. At least on paper. And well, some of the best people he knew now actually came from SHD.

That was precisely the reason why he was having second thoughts and hating every second of it. SHD was corrupt and some of their practices they managed to uncover made his blood boil. But it didn’t change the fact that there were good people, responsible people there, still believing in the cause and fighting for the greater good. The agents shouldn’t be blamed for this. He saw with his own eyes how SHD used them for their own gain instead of what was right. Now SHD was more vulnerable than it has ever been and it wasn’t a surprise that someone decided to take advantage of that.

Paul Rhodes was sure about one thing. He wanted SHD gone from the picture, at least the way they were organized now, especially after uncovering some of their darkest secrets. But he didn’t want the agents dead. He knew they were good people, he knew the only reason they were still with SHD was because they truly believed that they were doing the right thing. That was precisely the reason why he couldn’t have just ignored Kelso’s phone call; especially since it was a desperate cry for help.

He heard a knock on the door and sighed again, sitting back in his chair and breathing deeply to get rid of those negative thoughts. Of course it didn’t work. It never did.

„Come in,” he said, trying to make his voice sound at least a little sympathetic.

Javier Kajika entered the room, dirt covering his entire figure, fresh mud from his boots staining the floor. Rhodes winced, but decided not to say anything.

„You wanted to see me?” There was a tired undertone to the man’s voice. He just came back from an assignment so it shouldn’t have been surprising, but it still caught Paul a little off guard.

„I did. Thanks for coming. Want some beer?”

„Sure.”

Javier sat down in a chair right in front of the desk and Rhodes handed him a bottle he just took out of his fridge. Some might have called him sentimental, but it was the only extravagant part of furniture he would never give up. The man sitting in front of him used his knife to open the bottle and drank greedily.

„I wanted to ask you about something,” Rhodes said after a while, taking a sip from his own bottle. „Do you know anything about the Hunters?”

Javier stopped drinking and opened his eyes, sending Rhodes a suspicious glare and pulling the bottle away from his lips.

„Why are you asking me about this?”

„You have been around for much longer than most of us. I assumed you might have heard something. I… I received a request for help.”

Javier’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Rhodes didn’t like the fact that the man seemed to be reading him like an open book.

„As far as I know, the Hunters only target Division agents. You trying to tell me that the request came from SHD?”

Rhodes took a deep breath. It wasn’t going to be easy.

„Not precisely,” he said after a while, measuring his words carefully. „It came from an old friend. You know that SHD is in shambles right now. They’re much worse than they’ve ever been. But it’s not the agents’ fault. If it was up to me, I would have taken them all in to support Nova. You know that. But some of them actually believe that SHD can be saved, that the Division still has a future. It’s not their fault the higher-ups are corrupt. They just want peace and I think we should help them.”

Javier kept eye contact with him, his gaze strong and unrelenting. Rhodes had to admit that he was a little afraid of the man. Not just because of the stories he heard - his entire demeanor made him feel alert every single time Javier arrived in his line of sight.

„Let me get something straight,” the tone of Javier’s voice changed, suddenly a little irritated, „You want to help Division agents but not SHD? How exactly does that work?”

Rhodes tried his best to will himself not to blink.

„I don’t know that yet, Javier,” he said, his voice strong and sure. „All I know is that the Hunters are killing off agents one by one, murdering them brutally and taking their watches, wearing them like trophies. The ones responsible for that entire shitstorm however are not affected by their deaths in the slightest. They are killing good people, innocent people. And it doesn’t seem like they are going to stop.”

Javier shook his head and took another sip of his beer, muttering something under his breath. It was probably best that Rhodes didn’t understand what he was saying.

„I don’t know anything useful about the Hunters,” he finally said after downing his beer and placing an empty bottle on the desk. „Just that they target Division agents, as you said. They are very well equipped and well trained, so I wouldn’t say that they’re a random group or anything like that. I’ve only seen one of them in my entire life because he followed an agent to Pathway Park. He was chased away by a Black Tusk patrol though.”

Rhodes nodded at that, rocking back in his chair again.

„At least we know they’re not working with Black Tusk then,” Rhodes shrugged and drank from his bottle again. „That’s more than I knew a minute ago.”

„What do you want to do about it?” Javier asked immediately, playing with his knife.

„I don’t know if I  _ can  _ do anything about it,” Rhodes admitted truthfully. „We don’t have enough information to go by. We could probably send a group to investigate, but I doubt that we’ll find any volunteers for the job and I’m not just going to pick a random group and tell them to help SHD. I’m at a loss here, Javier. I want to help them but I don’t know how.”

Javier blinked fast. Rhodes knew well enough by now that the easiest way to get to him was to be brutally honest. It has already worked a few times and it was most likely going to work now too. He didn’t really have any other way to reason with the man.

„I know your tricks well by now, Rhodes,” Javier said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. „But you are right. It’s not their fault. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to recruit more people if we get rid of the Hunters.”

„It’s true that we could always use more people,” Rhodes nodded and tried to hide a smirk that was involuntarily forming on his lips. „But I wouldn’t go as far as to assume we’re just going to get rid of those bastards. I think we should investigate first. Find out why they collect watches. Why they target Division agents specifically. Do you think you could help with that?”

There was a long pause, Javier still playing with his knife, but ultimately he lifted his gaze and looked Rhodes in the eyes.

„I could,” he answered after what seemed like eternity. „If you let me pick the team.”

Rhodes smiled at that and reached out to shake Javier’s hand.

„Deal.”

The man looked at the hand in question and finally shook it reluctantly, leaving a muddy imprint on the hem of Rhodes’ shirt that the man neither seemed to notice or mind.

„Now,” there was a smirk on Javier’s face now, one that Rhodes only noticed when the man was excited. „I do enjoy a challenge, but I could really use another beer.”

He didn’t hesitate with sharing.

***

„We’re on Canal Street. I repeat, we are on location.”

Joaquin was standing in front of a launderette of an apartment building and he was sure that something must have gone wrong. Why a launderette of all places? It didn’t make sense, even more so when they finally entered the building. SHD intel led them to this very peculiar of a place and now he was at a loss. What was he supposed to do with broken washing machines and - oh, now that was a nice touch -  _ laundry baskets _ ?

„Scanning,” ANNA’s voice came from his headset but there was no follow-up. Marta and Joaquin were searching the place to make sure they didn’t miss anything but honestly, there wasn’t really anything to miss. Unless there were enemies hiding inside the washing machines or the aforementioned baskets.

„What do you see?” He heard Anna’s voice come from the headset this time, strangely reassuring among the cold light illuminating the room.

„Nothing much,” he answered, motioning with his hand at the other two to keep close to him. „No, wait. There is one washing machine that seems to be of particular importance. In fact, it seems to be so important someone stuck a note to it.”

„Serrano, I know this all looks like a very bad joke, but we have to be serious about this,” Anna sighed, hearing the mocking undertone in Joaquin’s voice. „Can you get closer and take a look at the note?”

„Sure,” Joaquin answered, pretending to be offended, „I assume you don’t want me to do your laundry while I’m at it?”

„Joaquin,  _ please _ .”

„Alright, alright.”

Joaquin moved closer to the washing machine and noticed it had a number stuck to the front. 23. While Marta and Javier covered his back he decided to reach into a pink basket standing on top of the washing machine to go through its interiors. It was at this exact moment the lights went off and Serrano gasped, startled with the sudden change of scenery.

„Talk to me, Serrano,” it was Anna again, this time a little on edge. „What happened?”

Joaquin was silent for a while, ducking down to make sure that he wouldn’t be an easy target in case somebody decided to mark him as such, but nothing happened. No sound except for Javier’s heavy breathing right next to him.

„It’s fine,” he said after a while and heard Anna exhale a breath she must have been holding. „The lights went off as soon as I stuck my hand inside a basket. There is a note with a number 23 stuck to the washing machine. I have no idea what this means, but… Oh, the light is back now.”

The light turned to red and illuminated the entire room with a weird and unnatural glow, making Joaquin a little uneasy. He couldn’t help but associate it with emergencies and his stomach did an involuntary flip at the view.

„ANNA,” Joaquin said, noticing that the scan was complete and adjusting his headset a little to make sure that the AI could hear him correctly. „Give me the overview.”

„No enemies nearby,” ANNA spoke with a soft, metallic voice, much calmer than what Joaquin was used to. „Several heat sources in proximity. Not human. Hostile control point nearby.”

„I swear I will  _ never _ get used to this,” Anna’s voice came from his headset again and he snorted, trying to contain his laugh.

„Well, what am I supposed to say,” he said as soon as he suppressed his laughter. „I never know which one of you is going to answer my call. It’s a little unsettling.”

Joaquin and Marta started looking around the room to find out what this red light mean while Javier stood by the door, keeping guard. The fact that there were no enemies nearby now didn’t mean that they won’t spawn in seconds as soon as they realize something’s going on. It was strange though, being on a recon team that wasn’t the Division. Joaquin used to think of himself as SHD for as long as he could remember. And now? It felt different with Nova. He was still a field operative, sure, that much didn’t change. But it felt more serious now, more important - probably because of how his responsibility has shifted due to him basically helping build Nova from scratch.

„There’s a fuse box on the wall,” he heard Marta’s voice through the intercom. „I think we should take a look into it.”

„On it.”

They both approached the fuse box and it wasn’t hard to determine that there was a fuse missing. Joaquin took a photo of the box and sent it to Anna for review. He didn’t have to wait long for her answer.

„There’s only one place nearby where you can get a matching fuse,” she said, the clicking of her keyboard serving as background noise to her voice. „I marked the location on your map. I believe you have to bring it back here and see where this leads us.”

„Great,” it was Javier’s turn to speak again. „Can we go now? This place is giving me the creeps.”

„Sure,” Marta adjusted her backpack and checked the map for new directions. „Let’s go.”

They didn’t have to travel far, but it was still a pretty long run they had to make between Civic Center and Two Bridges. Nova’s policy was to not engage in conflict unless absolutely necessary, but they still had to be very careful walking the streets of New York. The Rikers might have been on their side, but the Cleaners were still upset and in turmoil over losing their leader, Vivian Conley, already having engaged Nova a few times. There were also Black Tusk patrols that clearly held a grudge against Nova and even though they never engaged in any actual conflict, Faye Lau and Paul Rhodes weren’t exactly the best of friends. There were also many smaller armed groups scavenging among the ruins and honestly, those were sometimes the most terrifying of all because they were  _ desperate _ . Or full-blown crazy.

The group soon arrived at the backyard of a building, filled with crates and broken containers. The sun has already set and it was slowly getting darker, shade covering all surroundings with a grey filter that seemed to desaturate all colors. It was also getting colder, which wasn’t really surprising considering that it was early December.

„You have to find a way in,” Anna’s voice came from Joaquin’s headset again. „I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you with that. At least until we launch the new recon drone.”

„No worries,” Joaquin answered, making sure that his HK416C was loaded. „We got this.”

„Good luck. Over and out.”

Joaquin decided to go forward and motioned at Marta and Javier to take the sides. The location didn’t seem suspicious save for some noises coming from too far away to raise any concern. After a few minutes of reconnaissance and a jump to another part of the backyard they noticed a locked door wired with yellow cables. Following the trail Javier shot a yellow box to cause a short circuit and they were finally ready to go inside.

„Let me take care of the fuse,” Marta said as soon as she noticed a fuse box on the wall. „You guys keep watch. I don’t like how quiet it is here.”

Both men nodded and came back to stand close to the exit, guns ready to fire. Unexpectedly, it was incredibly peaceful.

„Didn’t really think you would be scared of a launderette,” Joaquin spoke, looking at Javier with a smug grin.

„I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the man answered, his expression as emotionless as ever.

„You said it gave you the creeps.”

„Oh, that,” wait, was it a  _ smile _ Joaquin was seeing? „I  _ grew up _ in a damn launderette. I hate them with a burning passion. Mostly because of the  _ smell _ . I still want to throw up whenever the smell of detergents hits my nose.”

„Sorry to hear that. Where did you grow up again?”

„Belen. New Mexico. Nothing interesting to say about the place though.”

Joaquin nodded and directed his attention back to the area they were supposed to scout. He wouldn’t go as far as to call Javier his friend, yet there seemed to be some semblance of camaraderie between them that he enjoyed mostly because Javier was a very reserved person. Not a lot of talking, but a sense of security with someone always having your back.

„I have the fuse,” Marta approached them after a few minutes, carrying the fuse in her hand. „Anna said it has some delicate wiring so I’m just going to carry it by hand. Time to go back to that apartment building I guess.”

The way back was also uneventful, save for a few stray animals crossing their path. They noticed a few raccoons scavenging among trash bags and a deer wandering aimlessly along the road, nibbling on grass here and there. It was a little strange to see the city so different after it was basically brought down by the Dollar Flu - no matter how many times they walked the streets with their gear on it still seemed surreal. Even after all those months spent trying to make sure people would be able to come back there at some point. Honestly, Joaquin couldn’t stop wondering if it would even be possible.

As soon as they came back to the launderette Marta installed the fuse and regular light came back on, illuminating the room and once again focusing on the washing machine with 23 plastered onto its front. Joaquin approached the machine carefully, trying to understand what exactly has changed thanks to the replaced fuse. Apparently the mechanism was powered now and he was able to open the container usually used for detergents. He wasn’t surprised to find a key there.

„Serrano to Haven,” he said after a while, turning the key between his fingers and looking at it from every angle. „I found a key. There are scratches on the surface. It also says 23.”

„I assume it’s the apartment number then,” Anna’s voice came from the other side of the line. „I suggest you go and take a look. Be careful though.”

„Understood. We’ll get back to you.”

All three of them made their way upstairs, looking for said apartment. It wasn’t hard to find - the numbers were still attached to most of the doors and it took them about five minutes to get to the correct floor. Joaquin set to opening the lock while Marta and Javier waited with their rifles pointed at the door.

„Opening the door in three,” Joaquin said as soon as he placed the key in the lock. „Two, one.”

He turned the key and the door was unlocked, opening the way to a ruined apartment. The proceeded with caution, step by step, making sure they weren’t surprised by any adversaries or scavengers. ANNA didn’t pick up any enemy signals though and apparently the area was empty.

„Wow, what is  _ that _ ?” Javier’s voice suddenly came from somewhere on Joaquin’s left and the man immediately turned towards him, noticing strange writings on the wall.

„Hey Anna,” Joaquin said quietly, approaching the wall to take a closer look. „We found something strange on the walls here. Care to take a look for us?”

„Sure thing. Send me a picture.”

Joaquin took a picture once again and forwarded it to Anna. There were numbers and letters there that seemingly made no sense. H4, Y7, X2… two-digit combinations were written all over, no obvious connection between either the letters or the numbers.

„Anything?” Joaquin asked after a while of silence on Anna’s end.

„Looking into it. Could be fragmentary coordinates. I have to run a few simulations to find out what we’re dealing with here.”

„Alright. Keep me posted.”

Joaquin noticed Javier moving towards the door, already done with the sweep. Apparently nothing interesting apart from the numbers could be found in the location.

„Serrano,” Anna’s voice rang in his ear soon after. „This is a set of coordinates after all. I ran all possible combinations and one points to a location near you. I’m updating your map as we speak.”

Anna marked the location on their watches and the entire team was ready to move out. Luckily they only had to pass a few lanes moving south. They could see the building in question, but getting there didn’t seem to be an easy task.

„You have got to be kidding me,” Javier sighed as soon as he noticed Joaquin shooting a cord to the top of the building and attaching himself to it to be able to slide upwards.

„Hey, it would be easier to go this way,” Joaquin shrugged and made sure that he attached the cord properly. „I don’t really see any ladders around here. Do you?”

Shaking his head and cursing under his breath Javier followed and soon after all three were standing on top of one of the buildings, noticing the door they were supposed to breach exactly on the other side.

„Alright,” Marta took a look around and approached a huge metal grate. „We could use this as a makeshift bridge. I’m going to need your help though.”

The two men leaned on the grates with their full body weight, helping Marta knock them over to lay them flat and connect with a balcony on the other side. It may not have been the most durable bridge Joaquin has seen in his life but it was enough for the three of them. As soon as they were safe on the other side they noticed another wired box they needed to take care of to open the door.

„This is slowly becoming my favorite assignment activity,” Javier grunted and shot the box again, effectively disrupting the mechanism and allowing them to open the door. „After you.”

Joaquin went in first, immediately feeling his throat constrict and his eyes water at the unbearable stench filling the room. Unfortunately he knew this stench too well. It was a decomposing body.

„Be careful,” he said, trying to cover his mouth with a scarf. „Something tells me nothing good happened here.”

„Sure thing,” Marta was right behind him and Javier was the last to enter the building, rifle steady in his hands. „Oh fuck!”

Assuming Marta was commenting on the stench Joaquin motioned for both of them to move forward. The first room was almost empty, save for a few elements of furniture that have been covered with cloth. It was the other room however that made all of them stop in their tracks and gasp, the stench suddenly not the worst thing they encountered in the building.

There was a decomposing body sitting against a wall, yes. But the wall in question was covered in writing again. This time however it was very easy to read.

„Joaquin to Haven,” the man said as soon as he managed to overcome the initial horror immobilizing his body. „We have a body here. And another text on the wall.”

„What does it say?”

Joaquin paused for a while, struggling to take a breath deep enough to speak.

„It says  _ DARE YOU TO COME CLOSER _ .”

„Oh my God,” Anna gasped on the other side of the line as well. „Guys, I think you need to get out of there. You don’t have enough…”

„Nonsense,” Javier chimed in, suddenly making Joaquin realize that he was not alone in the room, thankfully. „We already got this far. We have to see this to the end.”

„Are you sure? We could come back with a bigger team. With more firepower.”

„It’s just a writing on the wall. An obvious scare tactic,” Joaquin couldn’t deny that Javier was probably right. „We’ll try to get an ID on the body and get back to you.”

„Alright,” Anna didn’t sound convinced, but she was obviously not going to argue. „Let me know if you find anything.”

Marta was already close to the body, her mouth also covered with a scarf. Joaquin was surprised to see how fast she got to work. He almost forgot how efficient she could be in the field.

„I have an ID,” she said after a while, using her watch to process the information she managed to find. „Mark Shelby, a teacher. Apparently he used to teach in a school nearby. It was burned down by Cleaners.”

„Then I guess we know where we have to go next,” Javier stood up from where he was crouching over the body right next to Marta. „Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Marta and Joaquin nodded and followed the man, relieved to finally be able to leave the room. December air hit their faces with a refreshing blow of air, finally allowing them to take deep breaths without feeling like they were going to throw up.

The school was indeed located nearby, but they were much more alert now. First of all, the way they had to take was very open, making them easy targets, so they tried their best to stay close to the walls or move along smaller alleys. It was impossible to miss the school though. The remains of the building were still burning, although the fire definitely died down some time ago. It was just embers now, sending random sparks flying into the air.

„Human remains detected,” ANNA’s voice filled the empty space in Joaquin’s mind and pointed him towards another body, this time located by the gate.

Joaquin kneeled down to take a closer look, but it was impossible for him to notice any outstanding features. Another burned body, another casualty.

Probably another civilian they didn’t manage to save.

ANNA identified the body as another teacher, this time a woman, Christine Parker. Joaquin waved at Marta and Javier to start moving towards what was left of the school. They froze in their tracks however as soon Javier raised his hand up and stopped as well.

„Take cover!” He shouted, turning towards Marta and Joaquin, but it was too late. The sound of a bullet tearing through his leg was the only warning they got before another missed Joaquin’s head by three inches.

Marta jumped behind a half-destroyed wall and quickly launched her drone, sending it to look for their adversary. Joaquin dove towards Javier and grabbed him by the shoulders, hauling him behind a burned car just to the right. Javier screamed, probably more from anger than pain, but crawled to the other side of the car soon and reached for his crossbow.

Joaquin had to act fast, there was no time for the usual tactical warfare he was used to. He readied his rifle and peeked from behind the car to assess the situation. Marta’s drone was shot down before it even managed to fully take off, which wasn’t a good sign. He had to get closer. But  _ what _ was he getting closer towards?

„There are two of them,” Marta’s voice came through the intercom. „And I’m afraid we don’t have any other option but to engage.”

„It’s probably the Hunters,” Javier’s voice came through right after, laced with pain. „We have to be smart about this. If we make one mistake, we’re…”

He was probably going to say  _ done for  _ but Joaquin was actually glad that he didn’t manage to finish the sentence. Another round of bullets came rushing towards them and they had to duck again. With the corner of his eye Joaquin noticed Marta readying the flamethrower she was carrying on her back.

He armed the stinger hive and looked at Javier, the silent request behind his gaze saying  _ cover me _ . And Javier did just that, forgetting his crossbow for a while in favor of a more continuous firing power.

The stinger hive seemed to be working as a figure running towards them stopped, trying to chase the micro-drones away. Marta used this opportunity to jump out with the flamethrower and send a steady flame towards the man, burning him effectively. Joaquin tried his best to cover her, but the other Hunter was approaching fast. Javier tried to slow him down, but the heavy armor was not easy to penetrate with regular fire. Damn. They should have brought two flamethrowers.

„Get him! I’m going to burn the other one!”

Joaquin understood Marta’s words and as she turned her flamethrower towards the other Hunter, shot the man’s legs. He fell, but managed to land a bullet in Marta’s arm before doing so.

The woman screamed as the flamethrower fell from her hands, unable to keep it in her grasp with excruciating pain radiating through her entire arm. She looked around quickly, pain dulling her senses a little, but she was still conscious enough. The other Hunter was close and Javier was hiding behind a car. Without much thought she kicked the flamethrower towards him and Javier picked it up, screaming as he tried to pull himself up using the leg that was bleeding despite the makeshift dressing he managed to put on in the meantime. Marta reached for her shield to gain any protection she could with one arm out of service and she did it just in time before another swarm of bullets hit the shield’s surface, sending her backwards.

Javier propped himself against the car and used Marta’s flamethrower to stall the other Hunter, the man’s scream loud in his ears. Joaquin used this moment to arm another stinger hive and throw it towards the other Hunter as well. The micro-drones did their job quickly and added to the fire, making the second Hunter drop to his knees as well and hit the ground with a loud thud.

Breathing heavily, Javier approached both Hunters carefully to make sure that they were both dead. He collapsed to the ground soon after and Joaquin was by his side immediately, taking a medical kit out of his bag to patch the man’s wounds.

„You should help Marta first,” Javier spat, sweat and dirt covering his face.

„I need to make sure they didn’t hit your artery,” Joaquin worked fast, applying a more steady dressing to the man’s wound. „Marta will be fine. And they didn’t, byt the way, so I hope you’ll be able to walk back to Haven on your own.”

„I could walk back to Haven carrying you two on my back,” Joaquin knew Javier well enough by now to know that if he was cracking jokes, he was probably feeling much worse than he was showing.

„Great. We still have to strip these guys off their gear, so you can carry  _ that _ .”

Javier rolled his eyes but Joaquin didn’t see it as he was already crouching next to Marta, trying to apply a dressing to her wound as well and to immobilize the arm at least until they get back to Haven.

„Thanks,” she said, gritting her teeth in pain. „That was intense. I was sure they were going to get me.”

„Are you kidding?” Joaquin laughed a little as he applied pressure to the wound. „Your flamethrower saved our lives. I’m pretty sure they would have killed us all if we weren’t able to stall them long enough.”

„True,” Marta admitted and stood up, her shield attached to her backpack again. „We have to get their gear though. I hope there aren’t any more of them around.”

„Shouldn’t be,” Javier’s voice came from her left. „They rarely attack in groups. At least from what I heard.”

„Why did they attack  _ us  _ though? I thought they only target Division agents,” It was Marta’s turn to speak again, her arm immobilized now with a makeshift sling that Joaquin put together from his own scarf and a few bandages. „I don’t think I like this, guys. Let’s get this over with and go back to Haven.”

„Couldn’t agree more,” Joaquin said as he approached the two Hunters laying on the ground and started stripping them of their gear.

Both of them were carrying a few SHD watches attached to their breastplates - almost like trophies of sorts, but there was no way to tell if the watches were actually useful to them in any way. They did also have seeker mines and a drone on them, which seemed surprising as well. He also managed to find a disruption device fitted with an EMP of sorts, but Joaquin wasn’t sure what to make of all this.

„Serrano, come in,” Anna’s voice in his ear actually made him relax his shoulders a little. „I saw you engage in combat. Are you alright?”

„We’re fine,” he answered, wiping the sweat gathering on his forehead with his forearm. „Kajika and Thorne got shot but it’s nothing too serious. We’ll be back soon.”

„Glad to hear it. Remember to bring back everything you can. I’m going to need it for research. Make sure to take pictures too.”

„On it. See you soon.”

„Thanks.”

With a little help from Javier Joaquin was able to secure all available gear elements and take enough pictures to hopefully give Anna as much information as possible. He hesitated for a while before removing the masks the Hunters were wearing but ultimately took them with him as well, taking additional pictures of the faces behind them. Attaching the masks to his backpack and ordering the team to go back to Haven he was really hoping that they didn’t bring the Hunters’ attention to Nova instead of SHD. They decided not to wear any insignia pointing to Nova during this mission but words and stories travelled fast anyway. It was his worry ever since the beginning but hell, he understood where Rhodes was coming from with his decision to help Kelso. He would have probably done the same if it was up to him.

Little did he know that the three of them were being carefully watched every step of the way.


	2. New Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looking into the intel the team has managed to collect, NOVA faces a very important decision in terms of future alliances.

Paul Rhodes was sitting in a briefing room, drinking coffee from another chipped mug and waiting for everyone to join the meeting. He was still a little shaken up from what the recon team told him but tried to hide the uneasiness behind his usual bored expression. Anna and Theo shared part of their research results with him earlier in the morning and honestly, some part of him still didn’t want to know what exactly they managed to find out. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were all falling down a rabbit hole and that there was no getting out of this. Who knows what could happen if they get the Hunters’ attention.

„Dragov here,” he heard the man on a speaker phone on his desk. „How have you been, Rhodes? Long time no see.”

It was true that they haven’t exactly seen eye to eye recently. Dragov and Dogman were usually busy in the Wall Street base, managing supplies and training new recruits and the Rikers. It was still a little baffling to Rhodes to find out how good of a leader Dragov was. Charismatic, yes, but also very smart and resourceful. He always had at least a few scenarios ready to follow if something didn’t work out. There was never a situation he couldn’t get out of. Rhodes really admired that about him.

„I’m fine, thanks,” he answered, moving a little closer to the microphone. „How about you? Everything okay up there?”

„More than okay,” now Dragov actually _did_ sound like he was bragging. „There’s a shipping of circuit boards coming in today. You can tell Cupcake that she can have them for the recon drones or whatever.”

Rhodes snorted at that. Anna hated that nickname but already gave up on trying to force Dragov not to use it.

„I’ll let her know. I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear it.”

„And I have some new assault rifles coming in soon. I’ll tell you the details as soon as we catalog them. From what I’ve heard we’re in for a treat.”

„Another batch of illegal weapons you snatched from smugglers?”

„You bet.”

With that Rhodes noticed the team coming in. Joaquin was followed by Javier who was still limping a little due the injury he got on a previous mission. Marta was also there, the wound in her arm cleaned and sutured, covered only with a small bandage now. They seemed to be doing fine, much better than right after they arrived, but it was still going to be a while before they could be sent into the field again.

As soon as they sat down Anna and Theo came into the room, bickering back and forth about something and obviously in a hurry, coffee mugs in their hands. Looking at them made Rhodes’ heart grow a little. Of course he would never admit it out loud.

„Are we all here?” Theo asked as soon as he took his place in front of a screen and a whiteboard, right next to Anna. „We have a lot to tell you. Honestly, I don’t even know where to start.”

„Start from the beginning then,” Rhodes sat down in one of the chairs and crossed his arms in front of his chest. „Do you know who these people are?”

„No,” Theo’s answer was fast as he stuck a few photos to the whiteboard. „There was no way to identify the Hunters. We don’t have any names or anything; almost as if they never existed in any database. However,” he pointed to one of the photos showing the man’s arm, „We noticed that they have matching tattoos, but they probably just serve as a decoy. They have US military ranks embedded in the design but they are definitely _not_ US military. We ran every single database we could and unless their records were erased, which is unlikely because we’d notice, they were never really in the US military.”

„However,” Anna added as soon as Theo stopped to catch his breath, „They _are_ military. They have obviously gone through extensive training, probably something akin to black ops. Based on the information we managed to collect from those two they are very capable when it comes to actual physical combat. We didn’t want to theorize about who sent them and for what however or jump to any conclusions yet.”

„Although we do have a few leads that we plan to follow,” Theo jumped in at that and Rhodes snorted a little at his excited tone. „But we still need more information to confirm this. Is it possible for SHD to share what they have already collected on the Hunters with us?”

„I assume it is,” Rhodes answered, sitting up in his chair. „If they want us to help or assist them in any way, they will have to disclose all the information they have. At least that’s the condition I want to put forward when I talk to them.”

„Good,” Theo opened his laptop and connected it to the display on the wall, showing a map and ISAC versus ANNA’s signal coverage. „Now the scary part. You guys were extremely lucky with those two. They had signal jammers with them and if you used SHD tech based on ISAC’s network, they would have rendered everything useless with a press of a single button. However, ANNA uses a different signal and it didn’t work. That’s why Joaquin was able to use the hive and it probably threw them off a bit.”

„We think,” Anna added after a while, „That they assumed you were SHD. Being able to interact with the clues on the way and all, being able to identify the corpses using your network. That’s why they engaged you in combat. You seemed like Division agents doing their job. Although I don’t assume they had any way to know you weren’t using ISAC. They may be using SHD tech, but it’s very limited.”

„And that’s another thing we wanted to tell you about,” Theo placed four watches Joaquin, Javier and Marta brought back from the mission on the table in front of him. „They steal agent watches to operate SHD tech, but they can only control whatever is connected to said watch at the time. They don’t use network features or anything. These were connected to two sets of seeker mines, drones and a reviver hive.”

„We have also sent one of the jammers to Dragov to see where the parts came from,” it was Anna’s turn to speak again. „But we’re still waiting for results.”

„We’re looking into it,” Dragov’s voice came from the speaker. „I’ll let you know as soon as I find out what’s what. But those parts were selected deliberately to be hard to track. Nothing we won’t be able to overcome though.”

„Any questions?” Anna asked, looking around the room. Javier lifted his hand up. „Javier?”

„If we keep looking into the Hunters,” he spoke, his voice surprisingly calm; it took Rhodes a while to realize that he was probably still on painkillers, hence the unusually relaxed tone of voice. „Aren’t they going to start looking into us as well? I mean, where is Nova’s safety in all this?”

Paul Rhodes wanted to answer but Anna was faster, sitting down on the table to get more comfortable.

„If our theory is correct, and it probably is, they’re trying to further disrupt the balance in the US and that’s the reason they’re targeting Division agents right now. Because the agents were activated to restore the balance, _save what remains_ , things like that. They don’t care about SHD per se, they just don’t want the US back to its former state. As soon as they’re done with SHD, they will start coming after the rest of us as well. We can’t ignore a threat like that.”

„Agreed,” Paul Rhodes stood up at that, standing next to Anna. „We have to be careful, but we have to do something. Them coming after just SHD for now gives us an advantage, but it’s not going to last forever. I suggest we use it.”

Javier nodded. It was hard to say whether it was agreeing or dismissive, but if he had anything else to add he would have undoubtedly done that.

„Any other questions?” Theo asked at that, turning off the laptop. „We’re, uh, pretty busy, so… you know. Make it quick.”

„One thing,” Dragov’s voice came from the speaker. „If we’re going to look into the Hunters. I might have some intel as well. I think they tried to recruit me a while back. I wasn’t sure what the initiative was as the rules were very vague and I refused almost instantly, but thinking back on it I think it might have been the Hunters.”

„What makes you think that?” Rhodes asked, turning his attention to the speaker phone. The room went silent with anticipation.

„It was a while back,” Dragov continued, the sound of fabric shuffling loud on the other side. „During my Division recruitment process. They had no way to know I was being recruited though. I was asked for an interview regarding my police background and my father. That was when I realized something shady was going on. I mean, my father was a mob boss. Not many people knew about this. They told me he put in a good word for me when he was still alive. I didn’t know what to make of it, but I decided to meet them just in case. Here, in the US. That was our first and last meeting though.”

„Anything useful we could base our plan on?”

„Not really. They didn’t share any confidential stuff with me at the time. From what I understood I was being recruited into a paramilitary organization with roots in Russian espionage. But nothing more than that.”

„It could be connected,” Theo chimed in from right behind Paul Rhodes. „One of our suspicions was that the Hunters were indeed originally based in Russia. Nice to hear you, by the way.”

„You too, kid,” Dragov was obviously smiling on the other side. „Everything fine in the base? Cupcake treating you right?”

Theo looked to his left at Anna who was desperately trying not to comment, opening her mouth and closing it right after.

„Uh, yeah,” Theo answered, blushing a little. „Anyway. The guys who were trying to recruit you. Were they Russian? Or American?”

„We spoke in Russian and their names were definitely Russian as well. Don’t think they were real names though.”

„Could be a long shot, but do you remember them?”

„Unfortunately not. It was a long time ago. I’ll let you know if I remember something though.”

Rhodes nodded and sent a look around the room, silently asking for any additional questions. When none came, he decided to speak.

„Alright. I will be sharing what we found with Kelso and I will ask for their intel in return. I assume we’re on the same page here, but I have to ask. If anyone is against helping SHD or engaging the Hunters, speak now. We will have a lot on our hands soon, so it’s your last chance.”

The room went silent, nobody said a thing. All pairs of eyes were focused on Rhodes though with visible intent suggesting that they indeed wanted to go forward with the plan. It did make him a little proud.

„Alright,” Rhodes continued after a while. „Thank you for your trust. We will be discussing the next steps with SHD. I will let you know what we decide and when it’s time to put together an action plan. For now, we wait for details.”

„About that,” Anna chimed in, talking to Dragov. „Dragov, please let us know if you get any information on the jammers. It could give us a much needed boost in the right direction.”

„Oh, don’t worry about that,” Dragov’s laugh came from the speaker, somehow making Rhodes feel a little uneasy. „I have my smartest man on the job.”

***

Paul Bosevi was sitting in a makeshift office Dragov organized for him right after he moved into the Wall Street base, trying to dig out some of his old contacts. Snezhinka, an old Samoyed dog, was laying on the floor - close to his feet, snoring softly from time to time. The sound was oddly soothing to Paul who really enjoyed spending late evening hours in the office due to the peace and quiet he could find there. Although it was more a cupboard than an office, he reminded himself and snorted audibly.

It was strange for Paul to dwell on how things have turned for him, how he initially arrived in New York to look into Dragov and his supply network and somehow became his friend and his right hand in the process. He was genuinely surprised to find out that yes, Dragov might have been intimidating, but he was also a very honorable and resourceful man. Working with him to bring Nova to life was hard work, but the dedication everyone put into it was truly admirable. Especially when it came to Dragov, who kept surprising Paul with his engagement every single day. The time he spent in the Wall Street base while Dragov was still recovering from his injuries really did bring them close. It was _nice_ to be part of the Rikers family now. He wouldn’t have been so sure about it a while back, but it was truly an outcome he couldn’t have wished for even if he tried.

However, putting all that aside, he still had some contacts in Europe and they could finally come in handy now that he was supposed to find the origin of two jamming devices Nova recruits found on the Hunters during their showdown a week ago. He has never seen parts like this before and neither has Dragov, even though they have both seen their fair share of smuggled materials. Anna and Theo picked them apart and there were parts of SHD tech combined with other chipsets from God knows where. No part numbers, no digital signatures. Almost impossible to track and obviously put together by someone who knew what they were doing. Still, Paul had a few aces up his sleeve. He knew some resourceful people back in Europe as well. And most of them owed him at least one favor each.

„Hey Tom,” Paul’s voice changed as soon as one of his colleagues picked up the phone. „Paul here. I need to ask you a favor. Do you have a minute?”

„Sure, man,” a happy voice came from the other side. „I’m so glad to hear from you! Everything okay? I heard you’re still in the US?”

„Yeah,” Paul nodded and smiled, the smile obvious in his voice as well. „We’re setting up here with a team to help people in need. How are things in Amsterdam by the way?”

„Not bad. I mean, apart from the fact that the economy is still fucked up because of what happened in the US, but at least our people are not dying. We do have a lot to work on though. People losing their homes, their jobs and all. So it’s pretty busy. But we’re mostly fine.”

„I’m glad to hear that,” Paul answered as he bent down to pet the dog demanding attention by presenting her soft belly to him. „I don’t get a lot of news from home but I’m always glad to hear that everybody’s safe.”

„We’re definitely safer than you are in the US,” Tom said with a quiet laugh. „But then again you were always the lucky one, so I’m not that worried. Anyway, what do you need?”

„I need to run some part by you,” he answered, opening the photos he had on his phone. „I remember you used to run supply for some tech projects that were also involved with the US. We found two jammers that use SHD tech combined with something we have no idea how to track.”

„Can you send me part numbers?”

„That’s the thing, there are no part numbers. There is nothing we could use to identify those. But I remembered this photographic memory of yours. So I decided to call.”

„I don’t know, man,” Tom laughed nervously on the other side. „I wouldn’t call it photographic memory. But yeah, I do remember a lot of unnecessary stuff. Any pictures you can send?”

„Sure. Give me a moment.”

Paul already had the pictures ready for sending - Tom wasn’t his first choice when it came to dusting off old contact, but the previous ones turned out to be dead ends. He was really hoping that it would be different this time.

„Got them,” Tom’s voice came from the other side after a second. „Wow, what the hell is this? I’ve never seen a combination like that before.”

„Neither did our nerds, erm… technical team,” Paul really had to remind himself not to call Anna and Theo nerds. They always scowled when he did that, but then again it was kind of funny to mess with them every once in a while. „So? Anything?”

„I do recognize the tubes,” Tom said after a moment of silence and Paul’s heart skipped a beat at that. „I’ve seen them in makeshift bombs. They were used by Russians during some protests two years ago.”

„Wow. Really?”

„Yeah. They were stolen from a shipment meant for mining. They turn up here and there every once in a while, but I’ve never seen them used in a jammer before. Where did you get these?”

„We got them off some shady individuals trying to mess with our shit,” Paul didn’t want to give the man too many details but then again, he wasn’t exactly lying. „And now we’re trying to track them. It’s hard though. They’re good at covering their tracks.”

„Well,” Tom spoke after a while, concentrating on the other photos as well. „It’s definitely Russian. That much I can tell you. Judging by how well this job is done though I would assume professionals who don’t want to be tracked. You won’t find these in any database. I guess that’s why they used it. Now that I think about it, this shipment also contained some casings that were used for groung-to-air missiles. But I don’t know any details.”

Paul nodded and wrote everything down in his notebook to make sure he didn’t miss anything.He already found out more than he hoped he would. Dragov and the team will definitely be able to work with that.

„Thank you so much, Tom,” he said as soon as he was done with writing. „I owe you one.”

„Don’t mention it. I have owed you one for a while now so let’s say that we’re even. I can try and look into more details for you if you want, but it’s going to take time.”

„I’ll take whatever I can get. Even if it takes time.”

„Great. I’ll get back to you then,” Tom’s voice changed a little meaning that he probably stood up during the talk. „And by the way… it’s good to know that you’re okay.”

„Same to you. I’m glad everything’s fine at home,” Paul couldn’t stop the smile forming on his lips even though he knew that the other man couldn’t see it. „Say hi to the guys for me.”

„Are you ever coming back?”

Paul hesitated at that. He wanted to, at some point. But now he wasn’t so sure.

„I don’t know,” he said truthfully. „I still have a lot to do here. It’s probably going to be a while before we secure New York. There’s still ta lot to do in the US as well and honestly… I have no idea how we’re going to do this.”

„Yeah,” there was a hopeful undertone to Tom’s voice. „We’re all keeping our fingers crossed here, man. It can’t be easy out there. But hey, you can always count on us if you need help. We’ll do whatever we can.”

„Thanks. It means a lot.”

„Just give me a call if you need anything. I have to go now, but I’m going to get to you as soon as I have something new. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

„No, don’t say that. You helped me more than I could have expected. Talk to you soon.”

„Have a good one.”

With that Paul ended the conversation and put the phone away, exhaling loudly. The entire exchange was _exhausting_. He really didn’t want to dwell on the past too much but well, apparently sometimes you don’t have a choice. He leaned down again to pet the dog a little more and it did help a bit, but not the way it usually would. The hardest part about leaving your past behind was that there were always moments like these when it would haunt you. He knew that the job he had now in the US was something he had to focus on right now. There was no time and no place for sentiments, but it couldn’t be helped. He missed home and he missed his friends. And it was really hard to just not think about it whenever it would come back to kick you in the face.

He sighed again and decided to get back to work. Standing up from behind the desk he left to go talk to Dragov. The man was currently in one of the main areas, overseeing the installation of some additional wiring to set up a much more advanced outside surveillance system based on drones. They had to be extra careful when it came to the Wall Street base. It was their storage facility after all.

„James,” he said, noticing the man walking around the perimeter with one of the Rikers. His legs were much better now, although the recovery process was long and painful. He was most likely never going to regain full mobility though. Dragov tried to joke about it or dismiss it with his usual sense of humor, but Paul knew that the man was really worried. And scared.

„Hey there,” Dragov waved at him and dismissed the Riker at his side. „Anything new?”

„Quite a lot, actually. I wanted to talk to you.”

„Awesome. Tell me everything.”

Paul set out to explain the details of what he talked about with Tom and Dragov listened closely, obviously trying to commit every detail to memory.

„I assumed as much,” he said when Paul was done. „I mean, we already suspected that the Hunters might have originated in Russia. This only adds to that.”

„Yeah, I remember what you said on the call. I’m still not surprised they tried to recruit you though.”

„Neither am I,” Dragov sighed and put his hand inside his hoodie pockets. „But it’s… I don’t really like being reminded of my dad’s legacy. He wasn’t a man I looked up to.”

Paul nodded at that, unsure of how to answer. He might have been close friends with Dragov but they rarely talked about the man’s past. He rarely talked about his either.

„I get it,” he finally answered, making sure to sound as sympathetic as possible without overstepping any boundaries. „We’re all our own men now and yet we still can’t escape our past. Especially when it comes to our families.”

„It is what it is,” Dragov sighed again, this time a little deeper. „Still. We have to pack. We’re going to pay Paul Rhodes and the rest a visit. If they want to negotiate with the Division, I want to be there. Especially if they’re going to show up in person. Don’t want them getting too comfortable,” he ended with a smile, nudging Paul’s arm with his fist.

„You know it,” Paul smiled as well, following the smile with a nod. „I’m going to send them my intel first though. It’s probably best I do it as soon as possible.

Dragov nodded and fished a cigarette from one of his pockets, lighting it up immediately.

„I can’t stop thinking,” he said after a while, exhaling a cloud of smoke. „I have a very bad feeling about all this. The Hunters. Helping the Division. I mean, they killed so many of my people. But Cupcake and Rhodes are right. If we don’t do anything about it, they’re probably going to come for us next. I have seen my fair share of how Russian intelligence works and they don’t care about fractions. You’re either with them or against them. If they really want to destabilize the US, it won’t matter to them whether we’re the Division or not. All that matters is what we’re trying to do and well, it doesn’t really sit well with their plans.”

„Which means we will have to engage anyway,” Paul answered, leaning against the wall he was standing next to. „And if we don’t act fast, we might lose the upper hand here.”

„We might,” Dragov nodded, almost done with his cigarette. „Which is why we have to hurry. No matter what allies we have to make to keep us safe. Still… might be a good excuse to teach the Division a lesson.”

Paul smiled again. Dragov might have been a little hot-headed, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew alliances had to be made and that sometimes the best ones were the most unlikely ones.

They had to act fast, but they had to be very smart about it.


	3. Envoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected return stirs the spirits in Haven when Dragov decides to give Nova's guest a warm welcome.

Paul Rhodes and James Dragov were standing at the entrance to Haven, awaiting the arrival of Alani Kelso and her team. After a few days of discussion they finally agreed that it would be best to meet in person and plan forward accordingly. Kelso said that she was going to bring three agents with her and even though Rhodes had no idea how many were left in total, he was certain that if they were going to follow the tracks of the Hunters they were going to need many more than that.

„I really hope they’re going to behave,” Dragov said, noticing Kelso and the agents approaching from afar right after the current watch disarmed them. „Still, if they take one wrong step, I’ll be very glad to put them back in their place.”

„Let’s hope it won’t come to that,” Rhodes sighed, putting his hands into his pockets. „They know how much depends on our help. I’m sure they won’t be trying to get too cocky.”

„Part of me wishes they do,” Dragov smiled at that. „Haven’t had a good fight in a while.”

Rhodes wanted to comment on that too but ultimately decided against it, especially since the agents in questions were getting closer now. Kelso seemed to have gotten a few years older in the time he hasn’t seen her, but her strong resolve was still written all over her face. Behind her Rhodes noticed two agents he hasn’t seen before and someone he was definitely not expecting to arrive with the team.

Blaze didn’t change much during the last half a year - Rhodes recognized him immediately and honestly, he had no idea how to react. His first thought was  _ what the fuck is this man doing here _ , but it was relatively easy to answer this question. If he was still part of SHD, there was no reason not to bring their best agent along. Especially while going against the Hunters.

„Is this who I think it is?” Dragov spoke to Rhodes, obviously talking about Blaze.

„I’m afraid so,” Rhodes suddenly felt like he was short of breath. „Let’s keep this civil, shall we?”

„Rhodes, he ran the assault on my base. He killed Duchess. I’m going to be  _ anything _ but civil.”

„Please,” Rhodes thought that the  _ please  _ might have sounded a little too desperate, but he was going to try anyway. „Let’s listen to what they have to say. We’ll decide what we’re going to do after that.”

„You must be fucking  _ joking _ ,” Dragov was getting angry and honestly, it was hard to blame him. „What would you do if you were in my place?”

„I  _ am  _ in your place,” now there was anger in Rhodes’ voice too. „Don’t forget that I used to be JTF. The Division fucked me and my people over more times than you can imagine. But I have a bigger picture to look at. And so do you.”

„Fuck it. I’m not letting him walk away from this.”

Before Rhodes managed to react or say anything, Dragov approached the agents and took a wide swing, hitting Blaze in the face before the man was able to block his punch. Dragov’s fist connected with Blaze’s jaw in a powerful hit that sent the man backwards, stalling, but not falling down. Kelso shouted something and tried to get involved, but Blaze pushed her away as he locked his arms to block the next blow. Dragov went for his chest then, the hit pushing air out of Blaze’s lungs but creating an opening Blaze was waiting for at the same time. He could’ve gone for Dragov’s neck but didn’t; the man used his right fist in an uppercut blow that actually made Blaze fall to the ground this time. Rhodes was next to Dragov in a matter of seconds, pulling at his T-shirt to separate him from the agent and shouting at him to leave Blaze the fuck alone. Dragov sent him an angry scowl, but ultimately allowed Rhodes to drag him away without another incident.

„You’re lucky I don’t have a gun on me,” Dragov spat on the ground, his words directed at Blaze. „Or you would have been dead already.”

Blaze was almost back up, being helped by Kelso on one side and one of the agents on another. He spat on the ground as well, blood mixed with his saliva.

„Alright, gentlemen,” Kelso spoke first, interrupting whatever Blaze was going to say. „I think we’ve had enough of this shitshow. Rhodes, can we please talk before we jump to any actions?”

„Of course,” Rhodes couldn’t hide the anger in his voice either. „But first, tell me why you thought that bringing Meyer here might be a good idea.”

„He’s my best agent, Rhodes,” she looked him in the eyes then, determined as always. „That alone should be an adequate explanation.”

Rhodes nodded. There were two other agents with them as well but honestly, he didn’t have the strength to deal with them just now. Besides, they needed to set a few things straight before he let them into Haven.

„Can you excuse us for a moment?” He spoke to the agents directly, his gaze skipping Kelso. „You can go inside and relax. We have coffee and tea in the canteen. We’ll be with you shortly. Meyer, you and Kelso stay here.”

The two agents exchanged questioning looks, but ultimately left after being dismissed by Kelso. She was waiting for Rhodes to speak, holding Meyer up with an arm around his shoulders.

„You shouldn’t be here,” Rhodes finally said, looking at Blaze. Dragov just nodded but didn’t say a word, arms crossed in front of his chest. „Do you have any idea how problematic this could be? What the hell were you two thinking?”

Kelso sighed. She was obviously tired and normally Rhodes would just give up, but this was too important.

„I need my absolute best,” she stated matter-of-factly, almost as if it was absolutely obvious. „If we’re going to have a chance going against the Hunters. I don’t think this should be a problem. I was also under the impression that your people were professionals.”

„My people,” Rhodes snorted at that. „Are  _ my people _ . You’re guests here, Kelso. Don’t get me wrong, I want to help you. I really do. But if you bringing Meyer here messes with my people, he’s going to have to go. I can’t have that. Not now.”

„Don’t worry, Rhodes,” Meyer spoke before Kelso managed to form an answer, blood trickling down the side of his mouth from a visible cut in his upper lip. Dragov must have hit him really hard. „I’m not planning to be a problem. I’m just doing my job. Apart from getting the shit beaten out of me, of course.”

„I don’t concern myself with you per se,” he said, looking the man in the eyes. „But I worry about the comfort of my people. If we want this to work, then you have to behave. And you,” he turned his head to look at Dragov. „Have to fucking control yourself. We have a bigger picture to look at here. I know you and Blaze don’t really see eye to eye, but for fuck’s sake, we can’t have old grudges destroy what we have been working so hard to build. I was under the impression that you know it best.”

Dragov didn’t say anything, massaging his right hand where it connected with Blaze’s jaw earlier. His facial expression was still angry, but at least he didn’t look like he was going to punch Blaze again. Hopefully this was going to last.

„Now that we got that out of the way,” this time it was Kelso’s turn to speak, the shift in her stance resulting in a hiss of pain from Blaze. „Can we please go inside and get to business? And can you  _ please  _ find someone to make sure that my best agent isn’t rendered useless after an untreated injury?”

„We can,” Rhodes nodded with a sigh, sending Dragov another warning look. „And I give you my word that you will be safe there. Just please try and stay out of trouble.”

„We will,” Blaze sent Dragov a careful look, quickly turning away as soon as he realized it might have been taken as a taunt, his face starting to hurt again because of the wince. „Just to make things clear. We share the same goal. I’m not going to get in your way. I came here to help.”

„Good,” Rhodes sighed again, this time much heavier. „Now let’s get inside. We need this face of yours taken care of.”

***

Sitting down on a stool in Haven’s infirmary Blaze wanted to scream, but willed every particle in his body to act otherwise. He didn’t want to come back to Haven and Kelso knew that. Who was he to argue with her though? She  _ was  _ his commanding officer. As long as he was with SHD, there wasn’t much room to argue about his assignments. And considering the fact that it was all for the greater good, he decided to go. Even though facing Dragov or Anna was one of the last things he wanted to do and apparently it was for a reason. Thing is, Kelso should have told Rhodes that he was coming with them. She didn’t and he understood the reasoning behind her decision, but he was still angry. None of this should have happened and none of it would have if he was allowed to stay in DC like he wanted.

„Stop squirming,” Joaquin’s voice seemed to be coming from somewhere far away, definitely not from the man holding a gauze soaked in disinfectant to his upper lip. „I have to clean this cut.”

Blaze didn’t answer. He didn’t want to talk to Joaquin either. Their last encounter wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was a trying time for both of them and Blaze couldn’t really blame him for making the decision he did. Hell, he  _ understood  _ it. It didn’t change the fact that his allegiance laid elsewhere and they were probably never going to see eye to eye on this.

„Please tell me it’s nothing serious,” Kelso was sitting on a chair nearby, going through something on her phone; probably the latest stream of information from SHD. „I need him ready.”

„Well, his ribs aren’t broken if that’s what you’re asking,” Joaquin finished the medical examination a while earlier and luckily didn’t find anything serious. „And his mouth is nothing to be worried about. Unless he starts talking of course.”

„I’m still here,” Blaze said before he even realized what he was doing.

„Good,” Joaquin’s answer came fast and he started applying wound closure strips to the man’s cut. „I was just checking your reflexes.”

„They’re fine as ever… ouch!”

„Sorry. My hand slipped.”

„Just get it over with. I have a job to do.”

„Speaking of your job,” Joaquin was done and removed the silicone gloves he was wearing, washing his hands in a nearby sink. „And your reflexes. I was surprised to hear you didn’t fight back when Dragov attacked you. If I didn’t know you better, I would assume you did it on purpose. Or did you?”

Blaze didn’t answer. What was he going to say? He knew better than that. He wasn’t going to start explaining himself now. Even though Joaquin was right. He didn’t fight back on purpose. What good would it have done if he humiliated Dragov in front of his new allies and the people he had to work with? One look at the man was enough to know that he wasn’t doing well. That his legs were still weak. There was no way he would be able to win a fist fight with a skilled agent.

So Blaze decided to, as some people say, take one for the team. He didn’t really want to talk about it though.

„I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Joaquin approached him then and patted his shoulder lightly, trying not to irritate any injuries.

„Shame. And here I thought you might have actually turned into… I don’t know, a decent human being?”

Wait. Did Joaquin  _ wink  _ at him?

The door to the infirmary opened then and someone came into the room, emerging from the shadows of the corridor. Blaze, Joaquin and Kelso all turned to look, not expecting anyone to join at this point. Blaze’s heart almost stopped when he noticed that it was Anna.

„So it’s true what they were saying,” she didn’t change much, except she wasn’t wearing any gear, just a set of sweatpants and a hoodie; her expression was relaxed, but cautious. „I didn’t believe Marta when she said you were here. Honestly, you’re the last person I was expecting to see.”

„It’s nice to see you too,” Blaze said, turning his face a little, what in turn resulted in a jab of pain somewhere around his jaw. „For what it’s worth, I’m glad to see you alive.”

She didn’t answer but approached him further, standing just at an arm’s reach. Hands hidden in her pockets, she looked him over from head to toe, making him a little uncomfortable.

„What happened?” She asked after a while, not directing this question at him, but he felt like he should be the one to answer.

„A very warm welcome from Dragov,” talking didn’t actually help his aching jaw and Joaquin noticed it, fishing in a refrigerator for a while before he handed two cold packs to Blaze. „He is fine, by the way. You don’t need to worry.”

Anna nodded and locked eyes with Kelso above Blaze’s head.

„Agent Kelso,” she said after a while, her tone entirely different. „I’m glad to see you here. Sorry about this mess. I’ll try to talk to Dragov. He’s a little… hot-headed sometimes. But he’s a reliable ally.”

„So I’ve been told,” Kelso sighed, but Blaze noticed that she used the sigh to hide the uneasiness in her voice. He couldn’t blame her; she was the one who at some point marked Anna as a target for SHD and she must have known that Anna knew that too. „Still, we come here in peace. We didn’t come here to settle old grudges. We just want everyone to be safe.”

„So do we,” Anna nodded at that, her gaze flicking back to Blaze. „I just have one request. Please stay away from Theo. He still doesn’t know you’re here and I have no idea how he’s going to react. But I don’t think that he’s going to be happy about it. After all, you  _ did _ try to kill him.”

„I had my orders,” Blaze answered before he actually thought his answer through; noticing the change in Anna’s expression he immediately realized this wasn’t what she was expecting to hear. „Sorry. I’m going to keep my distance if that’s what it takes.”

„Thank you.” Anna turned away to leave after that, but ultimately turned back around to take one last look at Blaze. It looked like she wanted to say something more, but ultimately she left the room and Joaquin followed soon after.

Blaze held the cold packs to his face, the icy feel giving him some relief, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that what Anna wanted to say was ultimately going to lead to a conversation they should have had a long time ago and that neither of them was going to enjoy.

***

Dragov was angry. So. Fucking. Angry. At some point he was sure that he was literally going to explode, so he decided to retreat for a moment and spend some time alone. Walking upstairs he put on a jacket and made his way through the emergency exit door leading to the rooftop. It wasn’t that cold and yet somehow he was shaking. It was hard to say whether it was because of the cold or the adrenaline he could still feel running through his veins.

He closed the door to the rooftop behind him and sat down on one of the crates laying around, reaching into his pocket to take out a box of cigarettes. He fished one out of the box and placed it between his lips, lighting it up and taking a long breath. He thought he was past this. He thought he was better than that. He thought he wasn’t going to let the demons from the past control him anymore.

Apparently he was also stupid as fuck.

He was almost done with the cigarette when the door to the rooftop opened and he noticed Anna standing there, apparently as surprised to see him as he was to see her.

“Didn’t expect to see you here, cupcake,” damn, he hated that side of himself; the one that made him put up a front that screamed  _ everything’s fine _ . Nothing was fine and he didn’t really want to talk to anyone, let alone  _ her _ of all people. “Everything okay?”

She approached the crate he was sitting on and sat down right next to him, her questioning eyes focused on his face. He felt exposed and he didn’t like that.

“No,” she stated matter-of-factly, smiling a little. “And from what I heard you’re not okay either.”

Dragov sighed at that, turning away so that he wouldn’t be looking her in the eyes.

“Depends on what you heard.”

He reached for another cigarette and, to his surprise, Anna reached out to take one as well. She seemed to be amused with the look on his face.

“What,” she said as soon as he lit the cigarette up for her and as she inhaled the first puff of smoke, “Never seen a lady smoke before?”

“I have,” he couldn’t help but smile a little. “But I didn’t know  _ you _ smoked.”

“Used to. A long while ago. Now I just do it when I’m stressed.”

“Which is what, every day? You kids work far too hard.”

She snorted and inhaled the smoke again, exhaling it in the form of a soft cloud a while after.

“Luckily not. But I have to admit that Blaze coming here… well, it did shake me up a bit.”

Dragov nodded. He almost forgot. Apart from killing Duchess Blaze was the one who went after Theo. It was a damn miracle that the kid survived. Honestly, at some point he was sure that they were going to lose him.

“I hit him in the face,” he said after a while, finally turning around to look at Anna. 

“He kind of deserved it,” Anna answered with a soft smile. Dragov couldn’t help but smile as well.

“Well, if I had a gun on me, I would have probably just shot him,” he added, still terrified of the realization that it was true. He would have killed him, at least tried to, and nobody could have stopped him.

Anna nodded at that and busied herself with the cigarette again, tearing her eyes away from Dragov and looking at the horizon. The sun was setting and the air was crisp; the view in front of her was actually quite enjoyable.

“He saved my life once, you know,” she sighed, still not looking at Dragov. “When I was still a field agent. He risked his own life to save me. I retreated to work in R&D after that, but if it wasn’t for him… I wouldn’t be here today.”

Dragov nodded and lit up another cigarette. He’s had his own share of questionable friendships and relations binding him to people who helped him when he was still in SHD. It seemed to be a lifetime away, but he couldn’t deny it or pretend that it didn’t happen. All of his fellow agents were dead by now though.

“Believe me or not, I get it,” he said after a while, his voice much calmer now. “And how does that make you feel?”

“Honestly?” she finally turned to look at him again. “It makes me feel like shit. I owe him one life and I hate him for trying to take another. I have no idea what to do about it.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I have no idea what to do about it either. I mean, he ran the assault on my base and killed Duchess,” Dragov hid his face in his hands for a while before turning back to Anna. “But he’s a good field operative and well, we really need those right now. And I don’t want to ruin what we have been building for the past few months. But I just… I can’t help it. I saw him and the first thing I thought about was  _ payback.  _ It’s not the way this should work.”

“It’s not,” Anna admitted, finishing her cigarette. Dragov offered her another and she accepted it with a nod. He lit it up for her again. “But we’re all stressed. We’re all on edge. I’m not surprised you snapped. If I packed a punch like you do, I would have probably done the same. But I’m not really… strong or anything. The most I can do is shout at him. It’s not going to solve anything though, so I just… I don’t know.”

Dragov couldn’t help but laugh at that, startling Anna a little, but ultimately a smile returned to her face when he looked at her again.

“Sorry,” he said, shrugging. “I couldn’t help but imagine you taking a swing at Blaze and… well, you are  _ tiny  _ compared to him.”

“Watch your mouth, BFG,” Anna snorted at that, pretending to be offended. “I may be tiny, but I  _ am _ fierce.”

“I don’t doubt that,” he laughed again, suddenly feeling much better. “Still,  _ BFG? _ Where the hell did  _ that _ come from?”

“Thought you would know. Ever played Doom?”

“I did,” Dragov nodded and wow, he hasn’t been reminiscing about his younger years for a while; nostalgia was something he almost forgot about. “Didn’t take you for a Doom kind of girl though. More like, I don’t know, Cooking Mama or those old BioWare games. Then again, you  _ are _ a nerd, so I don’t really know what to expect.”

“There are so many things you don’t know about me, Dragov, and I'll have you know that Cooking Mama is a  _ terrific _ game ” Anna shook her head in pretended disbelief, eliciting another laugh from the man. “But you’re right. I was never that much into Doom. Something tells me you were though.”

“I was,” he admitted, much more relaxed now. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a casual conversation and it felt strangely soothing. “There was a time when I was still in training, before I joined the force, when I used to play a lot. To kill time or just to unwind. Didn’t have much space for that when I became an officer though. Still, I had a Doom poster in my bedroom as a teenager. I guess that counts as dedication.”

“It definitely counts as geeky,” Anna nodded and lifted the cigarette to her mouth again. “Damn. I almost forgot what it was like. To have time to play games, read books. I mean, to even have enough space in my head to  _ think  _ about any of those.”

“I guess once your mind goes into so-called  _ survival mode  _ it’s hard to go back to being a regular human being,” Dragov added, inhaling deeply. “Not that I would know anything about being one.”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Anna looked at him again, this time more serious. “I mean, we all did things we’re not proud of because we had to  _ survive. _ But if we’re still looking towards a common goal in the future, you know, safety of our friends and family and all that, I think we’re not that far from  _ regular people. _ And you _ do _ care about your people. I mean, you also took care of  _ me _ when I was shot. And I was your enemy at the time _. _ ”

She was right. He did care about his people. He wanted nothing more than to keep them safe. There was a time when he would do it by force because there was no other way to protect them. But now, with Nova, he was hoping to go down a different path. He wanted this, needed this to be done the right way.

Especially since he won’t be able to physically protect them anymore. This was probably what hurt him most and what he still wasn’t ready to admit.

His legs were never going to get better.

“It is what it is,” Dragov sighed and lit up another cigarette, making sure his face didn’t show any emotions whatsoever; he was good at that, learned it when his father was still around. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper. Me losing it probably made me more angry than seeing that fucker in person. I should have known better. Especially since I shouldn’t be picking fights I cannot win. This, Nova, this I can do. But let’s be honest. I’m no longer the intimidating leader of the Rikers that I used to be. And it’s so fucking frustrating.”

Anna was quiet for a while, obviously trying to process what he just said. He really appreciated that about her; she was always cautious about anything she would say. He should learn from her, he thought. Maybe he should stop to think more often before jumping into fights headfirst.

“You are,” she finally said, looking at him with a soft look in her eyes. “Your authority isn’t just about your physical strength. It’s about what you built with the Rikers, how you helped them and how they trust you would do right by them. They would do anything for you. Hell, you care about them more than SHD ever did about their agents.”

Fuck, she was right. He never thought about it that way, but what SHD did to the First Wave? He would have never done that to his people. Wouldn’t even think about a solution like that.

Maybe he wasn’t such a bad leader after all.

“Thanks, cupcake,” he said after a while, trying to hide how moved he was by her words. “It’s… I never thought about it that way.”

“No need to thank me, BFG,” she answered, nudging his arm with her fist. He smiled. “We all need a reminder of why we’re doing all this sometimes. I do too. And I think I’ll have to talk to Blaze. I don’t want to, but if we have to build something together… I guess I have no choice.”

Dragov smiled at that, surrounding Anna’s shoulders with his arm and giving her a playful nudge. She didn’t pull away. She leaned into him, returning the smile.

“You  _ are _ smarter than you look,” he said, ruffling her hair and getting a disgruntled sigh in return. “Anyway. I guess I’ll have to learn the magical power of compromise. It won’t be easy, but hey, I’ve done impossible things before. This should be a piece of cake.”

“Let’s hope it works out for both of us,” she pulled away from him and stood up, fixing her hair. “I gotta go now, but if you need to talk or if you feel like punching people again, come talk to me. Maybe we can set up a shooting range or something, I don’t know. Or a dummy for you to punch when you’re angry. I guess that could work.”

“I guess so,” he sighed, standing up as well. “But hey. Thanks anyway. You’re a good kid.”

“Dragov, I’m not a kid,” she said, an impatient undertone to her voice. “I’m three years younger than you.”

“That you might be,” he sighed with a smile again. “But you know. I have more life experience. Makes me wiser.”

“Alright then, old man,” she sighed and made her way towards the door. “Whatever you say.”

She left with a wave of her hand and Dragov stood on the rooftop for a while longer, wondering about what just happened. She was right. And he  _ was _ going to do things the right way. The  _ safe _ way.

Even if it meant having to cooperate with people he once considered to be his mortal enemies.


	4. Rotten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While some of the characters confront each other about their past actions, James Dragov comes to a realization he's really unhappy with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I had to take some time off from writing to actually play the game and go after Shade ;) it's a beast of a chapter though. I hope you're going to like it!

Marta was sitting by the table, a warm mug of tea in her hands. Luckily her arm healed quickly and she was just about ready to go back to active duty. Which was a good thing - there was nothing she dreaded more than sitting idly when everyone else was busy. Especially now that they were planning to engage the Hunters. It wasn’t going to be an easy task and everyone needed to be in top shape.

She knew what had to be done, she knew the reasoning behind the plan Paul Rhodes was putting together with Kelso and other Nova members. And yet she couldn’t help but worry. The Outcasts, Hyenas, the Cleaners, even Black Tusk? They knew enough about them to know what to expect, to know how far they were willing to go to achieve their goals. They didn’t know shit about the Hunters. All they had was a few ideas based on questionable and incomplete intel. They had no way to know about their objectives and their background; all they could do was speculate. That was precisely the reason why Marta felt uneasy and a little on edge when it came to anything connected with the missions.

And Blaze. She wasn’t expecting to see him again under such circumstances. The last mission they carried out together was… strange. Even though they parted ways with mutual understanding of another’s point of view, they were still operating under very different banners. Nova was nothing like SHD and SHD was nothing like Nova. Honestly, they were so different Marta couldn’t even begin to think how this cooperation could ever come to be.

“You seem lost in thought,” Joaquin spoke to her from the other side of the table, a notepad in his hand and a coffee mug in another. They were both waiting for a strategy meeting that was supposed to be led by Rhodes and Kelso when they’re done with the planning, doing some additional work in the meantime. “Everything okay?”

Marta sighed and placed her mug on the table, allowing it to warm her hands. It was pretty cold in Haven and even though the walls were well insulated, the outside wind always seemed to find a way in.

“Mostly,” she said, smiling softly. “I’m just… I don’t really know what to think about this. Us helping SHD and trying to cooperate with them. Wasn’t the entire idea behind Nova to separate from SHD as much as possible? I’m not sure if I like this. I don’t feel safe with them here.”

Joaquin took a sip of his coffee and nodded. He was always very understanding and Marta really appreciated that about him. Even though they did once have a difference of opinions, none of them were holding any grudges. But it was always like that with Joaquin. He was a good man and believed that there’s good in everyone around him. Marta envied him. She was never able to think that way. If anything, she was overly cautious around other people, always assuming the worst and preferring to be pleasantly surprised.

“I know what you mean,” Joaquin said after a while, leaning forward to support his head with his arms; Marta was surprised to notice that his hair, usually kept in a tidy bun, was loose around his neck. “I don’t know what to think about it either. But the way I see it, there are many good agents in SHD. You know that yourself. So instead of thinking about this alliance as an unlikely truce between adversaries, I prefer to think about it as an unlikely alliance of those who want to do the right thing. Strangely enough, now that I’m no longer in SHD it’s easier for me to separate it from the politics and the government. I’m trying to focus on the people.”

Marta nodded. Joaquin was right. It was the correct logical approach. And yet she wasn’t always able to focus on logic.

“I wish I shared your enthusiasm,” she smiled back at him and busied herself with her mug again. “I’ll see how this works, but I can’t help but be cautious. Especially with Blaze coming here. Don’t get me wrong, I like him, but he’s… I don’t think he’s the right person for the job. Even with his skills and abilities.”

Joaquin smiled again, almost as if what Marta just said wasn’t a negative description of the man.

“As for Blaze,” he said, scratching his nose because of the few loose hair that decided to separate from the others and tickle his skin, “I used to think the same, you know. But he’s growing on me. And besides… he knows what’s at stake. There’s no way he’s going to pull some stunt. I’d give him more credit if I were you.”

Marta widened her eyes with disbelief, thinking that maybe Joaquin was just playing her.

“Excuse me… what?” She asked, not trying to hide her surprise. “Are you for real?” 

“Yeah,” Joaquin was fast to answer. “I don’t think he’s a bad person. And I think he’s in a place now where he wants to prove it. I think a lot of good things can come out of… oh, Javier! Come join us!”

Joaquin waved at Javier who was approaching the table, a notepad in his hand as well. Marta wasn’t close to the man but she knew him well enough to remember that he preferred all analog forms of data recording. Which might have been a good thing, especially when it came to many system faults they have recently experienced due to poor satellite coverage. Well, the systems weren’t exactly being maintained in any way.

“Hey J,” Javier sat down next to Joaquin and placed the notepad on the table. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Joaquin replied with a sigh. “Want some coffee?”

“No thanks. If I drink any at this hour, I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep.”

“Your choice. It’s pretty good though. Much better than what we had last month.”

It always baffled Marta how friendly Joaquin was towards Javier. He was the only person she knew who didn’t seem to be frightened and constantly alert in the man’s presence. Javier acted differently around him too - Marta knew that it was Joaquin who recruited Javier into Nova but it was still surprising to see such a dynamic between them. Especially given the fact that Javier used to be a loner for quite a while and that his grudge towards JTF was something he was well known for.

At some point Marta noticed two Division agents enter the briefing room. She’s seen them both before but didn’t remember their names. To make sure that they didn’t feel left out she decided to get up and approach them. It was also going to save her the discomfort of being in Javier’s presence.

“Hey there,” she spoke to both of them, smiling a little. “Nice to see you here. I’m Marta Thorne. I assume you arrived with agent Kelso?”

“Yes,” one of the agents, a man, spoke with a soft smile on his lips. “My name is Marris Barkworth, but my friends call me Joule. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Marta replied, shaking the man’s hand. “And you are?”

“Skye Wilkins,” a tall, athletically built woman, seemingly younger than Marris, smiled at her as well. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise. Would you like to get some coffee? Or maybe something else? There’s still at least a few minutes before the briefing starts.”

“No worries,” Marta was happy to notice that both agents seemed to be very calm and reserved, especially Marris. “We’ll manage. Is there a spot where we can recharge our watches?”

“You should find one by the wall,” Marta gestured towards the other side of the room, next to an old and battered sofa. “Let me know if you need anything."

“Sure thing. Thanks.”

Marta came back to her seat and Joaquin looked up from his notepad, sending her a smile.

“Feeling bad for the odd ones out?” he asked, gesturing at the agents with his head.

“A little,” Marta reached for the remaining tea she still had left in the mug. “Hey, it could have been us. It’s not their fault that SHD fucked up. And they probably feel like intruders here.”

“As they should,” Javier didn’t look at Marta but his statement was definitely directed at her. “I hope they remember that they’re just guests here.”

“I’m sure they do,” Marta was starting to feel uneasy and noticed with relief that Paul Rhodes was approaching them. “Looks like the briefing is about to start.”

All heads turned towards Rhodes, Kelso and Dragov who just entered the room and made their way towards the whiteboard located on one of the walls. Dragov sat down next to the main table and Blaze entered just after, his face still a little swollen but looking much better than two days ago. Marta tried to send him a reassuring smile but he didn’t seem to notice. He sat down in the back of the room and busied himself with the hem of his jacket. It suddenly hit Marta how left out he must have felt among the group too - especially since she’s known him well enough by now to realize that he probably didn’t want to come to Haven at all. She had to talk to him as soon as this meeting was over.

“Are we all here?” Rhodes asked, looking around the room. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary he pinned something to the whiteboard and coughed. “Okay, I guess it’s time to start then. As you all probably know, SHD is being targeted by a group called the Hunters. The Hunters kill Division agents with cold blood and stop at nothing to achieve their goals. They steal SHD tech, hack agents’ skills and use it all against them. We managed to kill two of them simply because they mistook us for Division agents and didn’t realize that we don’t operate based on ISAC, but I believe it’s not going to be the case for long. You all know what we think about their goals. Now it’s time we use the little advantage we have to approach them first.”

All heads turned towards the board now as Rhodes showed what he just pinned - a hand-drawn map of a location that was actually pretty hard to recognize at first glance.

“Our plan,” Kelso was the one to continue, stepping forward a little, “Is to prepare a task force to investigate the Christmas Market. We spotted a lot of unusual activity there and it should be our first choice. I would like to propose that Joaquin, Javier, Blaze and Marris join forces and do recon together. Marta and Skye will be their support. If anybody wants to comment on this, please speak now.”

Marta felt a strange tingle under her skin - something that always happened whenever she was selected to join a mission, but she was never really able to describe if it was a good or a bad feeling. It just _was_. There was no need to dwell on it too long. She never did and maybe that was the reason why she managed to stay positive about everything happening around her for the most part. Still, being designated as support for the main party usually meant having to be even more focused. She will have to do a lot of research to make sure her technical loadout is optimal for this kind of task.

“Well, if there are no more questions,” Rhodes sighed and adjusted the baseball cap on his head, “I’m going to get to work to prepare a more detailed strategy. You leave in two days. Make sure your gear is fine and that your tech is up to date. Talk to Anna and Theo if you have any questions. They’ll check everything for you and probably make some suggestions. We’ll send you an updated plan as soon as we write it all down. Get ready. This could get ugly.”

Marta sighed and noticed Joaquin do the same, sending her a smile in the process. Javier on the other hand was as unfazed as ever, scribbling in his notepad. She figured it might be a good time to leave them and finally talk to Blaze.

The man was just getting up from where he was seated but stopped as soon as he noticed Marta approach. She waved at him and smiled, trying to appear friendly. She was relieved to see that the man smiled as well.

“Hey Blaze,” she said, standing next to him and looking him in the eyes. “It’s nice to see you. How are you holding up?”

The man sighed and leaned against the table behind him, letting his arms drop to his sides.

“I’ve been better,” he said, a tired undertone to his voice. “And I was just about to go and talk to Anna. I’m pretty sure this conversation is going to make me feel even worse, but we both have to get it over with. I guess.”

“Really?” even though Marta knew Anna and Blaze were acquaintances before things turned sour half a year ago, she didn’t really know the details.

“Yeah. Too much history there. And I believe that it’s better to do this sooner than later.”

“So I assume it’s far too serious to just let it go.”

“I mean, if it was any other agent I probably would. But I guess I owe this to her. And she kinda owes it to me.”

Marta nodded, not wanting to force Blaze to tell her more than he was comfortable with. She did feel sympathetic for the man though.

“Alright then. Good luck. She’s probably going to be in the basement with Theo. Come find me afterwards, okay? We can get some coffee and relax for a while. I guess you need that.”

“I do,” Blaze smiled again. “Thanks, Marta. You’re a good friend. I appreciate this a lot.”

“Sure thing. Now go and get this over with. I’ll be in the canteen.”

Blaze nodded at that and stood up, adjusting his jacket and turning around.

“Thanks. See you soon.”

As soon as he left the briefing room Marta couldn’t help but notice that something changed in the man. Maybe Joaquin was right after all.

Maybe Blaze actually was the right man for the job.

***

Blaze finally made up his mind and decided to go talk to Anna as soon as the briefing was over. Walking down the stairs to the basement he kept repeating the things he wanted to say in his head. _‘I’m sorry’_ was definitely going to be one of them. Maybe followed with an _‘I never wanted to hurt any of you’_. He was never good with expressing emotions and feelings, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t have them. It was actually quite the contrary. But just having those thoughts and feelings didn’t automatically mean it would be easy to just _talk_ about them. So he was a little stressed, yes. But he also knew that not talking about important issues was definitely not going to be beneficial for their cause.

He wasn’t surprised to see how much Haven has changed ever since his last visit. The fortifications and defense systems were much better and well thought-out, just as the general flow of tasks and people on the inside. It all seemed to be very well organized. He wasn’t surprised to see that the research and development division was currently occupying the entire basement where Alani Kelso used to have her small personal desk and a piece of wall to put a small board on. Every single room was filled to the brim with shelves, tools, components, screens and whiteboards. There were notes and pieces of paper stuck to different pieces of tech laying around multiple tables, two sets of handwriting adorning every single one of them. He almost forgot it wasn’t just Anna now. It was also Theo Parnell and well, it complicated things. But he still had to see it through for the sake of their future. He still had to talk to her and set some things straight. Honestly, he didn't think he'd ever get the chance. But if they had to work together, there was no way around it.

He heard Anna and Theo talking in the other room and stopped in his tracks, not sure if he should interrupt them in the middle of a conversation.

“All I’m saying,” Theo was obviously very excited about something if his tone of voice was anything to go by. “Is that they managed to get together in the face of danger and make good use of their resources. They knew they couldn’t have done it alone. But it only works in movies. I mean, the rest of the world basically turned their back on us with this one.”

“True,” Anna was fast to answer, an undertone of amusement present in her voice. “But the threat they were facing was something that could have brought down the entire world. I believe most of the countries still think that because the Dollar Flu mostly affected the US, it’s not going to affect _them_ personally. So they go about their lives as if nothing's changed, not really caring about the economy or the general well-being of humanity as a whole. But that’s nothing new, I’m afraid.”

“It’s not,” Theo took a while to answer, obviously busy with something in the meantime. “But it sucks. My theory is that it’s different when you face a danger you can see, like the kaiju. But the Dollar Flu? You can’t see it. It’s a virus. So if it doesn’t affect you personally it’s easier to pretend it doesn’t exist. Couldn’t exactly do that with a huge monster destroying your cities and killing your people.”

Wait, were they talking about the movie _Pacific Rim_ and comparing the situation to the Dollar Flu? Blaze couldn't help but snort and it immediately brought their attention to him, Anna peeking from behind the desk to see who decided to pay them a visit.

“Blaze,” she said, worry obvious in her voice as her eyes immediately darted to the left to look at Theo. “Didn’t expect to see you here. What do you need?”

Blaze stepped into the room and couldn’t help but notice that Theo literally froze in place, a circuit board in his hand and a soldering iron in another. He put those away slowly and just stared at the man, unable to form a sentence.

“I came to talk to you,” Blaze decided to ignore Theo for now, not wanting to add to the man’s discomfort. “You have a minute?”

Anna looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face and nodded, obviously understanding what he was trying to say. He was always grateful for that ability of hers. She stood up and approached Theo, placing a hand on his shoulder. The man turned his eyes away from Blaze then and looked at her, a frightened look in his eyes that actually made Blaze feel a little uneasy.

“Why don’t you go and get dinner early,” she said, the softness of her voice something Blaze hasn’t heard before. “I’ll join you as soon as we’re done here.”

“Are you sure?” Theo shot a quick look towards Blaze and returned his gaze to Anna, his expression softening a little. “I… I can stay if you want.”

“It’s fine. I told you we have to talk. Now’s as good a time as any. Just make sure you sit in our favorite spot so Joaquin and Javier don’t occupy it.”

Theo nodded and stood up. Blaze only now noticed that he was much taller than Anna, probably also taller than him. The man placed a hand on Anna’s cheek and kissed her forehead, making her smile at the gesture. Was it… was it what Blaze thought it was?

“I’ll see you later then,” Theo moved away from the desk and shot another look towards Blaze. “And you... be nice, okay? Don’t upset her. She has enough things to worry about.”

“Theo, please,” he noticed Anna roll her eyes and wave her hand at Theo. “We go back a long way. It’s going to be fine. Just go.”

Before Blaze managed to say anything Theo shrugged and left, his footsteps reverberating through the basement as he started walking up the stairs.

“Sorry about that,” Anna said after a while, stretching and sitting back down behind the table. “He’s… very protective. But at least he didn’t panic when I told him you were here. I was kinda worried about that, to be honest. Want a soda?”

Blaze couldn’t really understand what just happened, but the promise of a soda did seem appealing.

“Sure,” he answered, pulling a chair from under the table next to him and placing it on the opposite side of the one Anna was sitting at so that he would be facing her while they talked. “Uh… are you guys…”

Anna reached behind herself to open a small container that turned out to be a fridge. Blaze noticed a few samples of something squeezed next to a few cans of soda. She took one out and handed it to him, opening a can for herself too and taking a long sip of the drink.

“Are we what?”

Blaze opened his can of soda too and took a sip as well, trying to mask his uneasiness somehow.

“Together?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I thought you knew.”

He didn’t. Honestly, he didn’t know how he should feel about that either.

“So while we were trying to make sure Keener got what he deserved,” he took another sip of the sweet drink, actually enjoying the taste quite a bit. “You were playing about with an enemy of the state?”

The look on Anna’s face changed in a matter of seconds and it almost made Blaze regret not biting his tongue before he said that, but Anna actually started laughing. Blaze was so baffled with her reaction that he honestly didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry,” she said after a while, looking him in the eyes. “I almost forgot what it’s like to talk to you. No, I wasn’t _playing about_ with Theo. Okay, maybe a little. But we only got together after… after you hurt him. And before that we were working together to undermine Keener’s operation. Looking for intel. You know it was me who sent Keener’s coordinates to Rhodes.”

“I do,” Blaze nodded, grateful for the change of subject. “He called us while we were already in The Tombs. Asked us to pull out. Some of us did and some of us didn’t. And when I heard that you were working with the rogue agents… I felt betrayed. Fucking hell, I trusted you. I mourned your death because I was sure that I killed you. And then I hear that you're alive and you're bargaining for Theo Parnell's life. I mean… fuck. It hurt. It really did."

Anna frowned a little, but other than that there was no difference in her demeanor.

“You felt betrayed… for fuck's sake, Blaze,” she sighed, shaking a little. "I felt like everything could have ended for me on that day. Everything. Keener almost got me. Theo almost died. It was… a very hard day, so to speak."

"A hard day, you say," Blaze took a deep breath, trying to make sure that he worded what he was trying to say correctly. "For me, it was a hard, well, two months? After you disappeared. For a while I was sure that I killed you. You have no idea what that… what it felt like. All I had was a reading of your blood. You think I could have lived with that? You think I didn't _care_? Who the fuck do you think I am?!"

"Okay," Anna answered, leaning on the table and supporting her chin with her left hand. "Maybe I should have worded this differently. But slow down a little, will you? I'm really trying to be nice here and I want to talk this through. I want this to work, but it's not going to if we keep jumping at each other's throats. You almost killed Theo. I know I owe you a lot, but this… he means so much to me, Blaze. You have no idea."

“You’re right,” Blaze sighed. “I don’t. But I have a suggestion,” he took a deep breath, then another sip of the drink and placed the can back on the table. “You ask one question, I ask one question. I assume it’s fair. And we answer truthfully. No dancing around the subject.”

Anna looked him in the eyes then - determined, but also a little scared. And a little hurt. Blaze guessed he would just have to live with that, even though he hated it when she looked at him like that.

“Alright," she said carefully after a while. "You start.”

Blaze sighed. The questions seemed to be a good idea and he was really hoping to understand where Anna was coming from. Maybe excluding the fact that he still felt very conflicted about the nature of the relationship between Anna and Theo but he wasn’t going to just start asking her about it. At least not yet. He _will_ watch his tongue.

“Why did you leave with Parnell? When I shot you?”

Anna took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes again.

“I found some information in the SHD databases that didn’t exactly… paint SHD as the good guys,” she said, her voice much calmer now. “Theo contacted me about it as he was digging through the databases as well. He found something that could potentially shine a new light on how the government was using the Division for its private gains. He couldn’t get the device to work though so he asked me for help. That was what the meeting was about. And by the way, we managed to open it and decode the files stored in there. It turns out that there were a few families in Tribeca that got special treatment. Used Division agents as their private bodyguards while people were dying in the streets. James Dragov was one of those agents.”

Blaze didn’t know about that. He suspected that there might have been some corruption in SHD, of course there had to be; he was just hoping that the extent of it wasn’t dangerous. Apparently he was wrong. He started wondering how many other things he didn’t know or chose not to know.

“I didn’t know about any of that,” it was true and Blaze wasn’t going to try and pretend otherwise. “But I understand. You did what you assumed was the right thing to do.”

“You think it _wasn’t_ the right thing to do?”

“I don’t know,” he truthfully admitted once again. “I don’t know, Anna. I joined SHD to help people, to save those who need saving. I was doing my job whenever there was a need for my help. You joined to do the same. I followed orders of those above me precisely so that I don’t have to make those decisions. I was just doing my job. You know well enough what it was like. _Extremis malis, extrema remedia_. We do what we have to under dire circumstances.”

“Which brings me to my first question,” Anna was obviously a little uneasy, but no one said it was going to be a pleasant conversation. “Why did you go after Theo even though you already had what you came for?”

Blaze sighed and took the last sip of his drink, emptying the can.

“The protocol for handling rogue agents is simple,” he said, hoping that there was enough conviction in his voice. “I was trying to neutralize an enemy of the state. I couldn't have fought what I had no control over. He was Keener's associate after all. He helped him build the fucking missile. What the hell was I supposed to do?”

“This enemy of the state,” Anna’s voice was emotionless now, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t feel any; it merely meant that she was trying to hide them behind a facade. “Was abandoned by the Division when he needed them most. You know what happened to the First Wave. Theo was left to die in the Quarantine Zone and it’s a miracle that he survived. He was on the run ever since until Keener found him. You’ve seen the ECHOs, you’ve heard the recordings. Theo wanted to bring Keener to justice. But Keener knew how to play him and he ultimately joined this madman’s crusade. It was very similar with Dragov; he didn’t really want to work with Keener but the man gave him no choice. They were good agents back in the day and you know it. You’ve seen it.”

She was right. He did see it. SHD played it all down as manipulation though and honestly, he’s never really looked at it this way before.

“I didn’t know that,” he admitted once again, determined to keep telling the truth. “I didn’t know their motivations. The reason behind them turning rogue.”

“You never asked,” Anna’s answer was fast, but damn, it was also on point. He never asked because he never wanted to know. He didn’t need this. He just wanted to do his job.

“Maybe I should have,” he added after a while. “But it was their deliberate decision to turn against SHD and they knew the consequences. I don’t mean to say that the way SHD treated them was right. I just… they all knew what they signed up for.”

“I guess they did,” Anna nodded. “I thought I did too. But it wasn’t exactly how I imagined it to be. I thought SHD was supposed to be the shining beacon of hope. Instead, it brought about even more corruption and favoritism. I couldn’t… I can’t stand for that, Blaze.”

“I guess this kind of answers my next question,” he said after a while, determined to break the uncomfortable silence. “Why did you decide to turn against SHD?”

“Because I was fed up with all the lies and sweet talk,” another fast answer. “Like SHD was the last hope of humanity, determined to _save what remains_. The system is corrupt to its core, Blaze. It doesn’t matter how many good agents, how many good people you have. If you can’t trust the system, it doesn’t mean shit. Hell, you can’t even trust ISAC. If the government wants someone to be marked as rogue, they can do it with a snap of their fingers. That’s what bothers me. That’s why we decided to build Nova. Without the government’s influence. We really want to keep people safe. Those who are still alive, at least. And those we can still help.”

Blaze nodded. It made a lot of sense to hear the arguments on her side. Hell, the truth was that they shared the same goals. Blaze also wanted to keep people safe, to make sure what is left of the United States of America doesn’t collapse further. But if he can’t trust his authorities, who can he trust? And now that there were no authorities, did any of this even matter anymore?

“I believe we share the same goal,” he said after a while, his shoulders more relaxed now. “But you have to understand. SHD is an initiative that covers the entire United States. Nova is just a local player in New York. And the way SHD works? I don’t have control over that. I can’t report a procedure and hope that they change it because I don’t like it. I can’t do shit about how things are done. Hell, I don’t think anyone can. The government is… well, it’s not here anymore. So I guess we’re left with what we have.”

“I know,” she answered, placing her hands on the table right next to Blaze's. “That’s why I left.”

He never really thought about it. Leaving. He swore to be with SHD for better and for worse, to pledge his life to the cause. He was one of the best agents. He couldn’t disappoint the civilians still hoping that the Division would help them.

He couldn’t disappoint Kelso. Or Manny. Or all the squads he ran with, all the people who were looking up to him, who knew that he would get the job done no matter what the stake was.

Or those whose lives he saved along the way.

“Another question,” she said after a while of silence, this time a more comfortable one. “Why did you save my life?”

Shit. He should have known she was going to ask about that. The worst thing was, he didn’t really have an answer. He didn’t have one then and he didn’t have one now. At least not one that she would have understood.

“I don’t know,” he answered and judging by the look on her face, she was _concerned_. Was it about him? He didn’t know. She reached out and squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture. Strangely enough, it actually _did_ comfort him. “There was a lot going on. And SHD couldn’t have afforded to lose you.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s why they decided to pull me out of the field and put me into R&D full time. Still… you could have died. You _almost_ died. Why did you decide it was worth the risk?”

What was he supposed to say? He didn’t know.

“It just… felt like the right thing to do, I guess. You were a fellow agent. I had to do whatever was in my power to help you. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”

She nodded at that, but didn’t really seem convinced. There was no way he was going to explain it any better though. He had a second to make a decision when they were in the field and he made one. He rushed forward to help her, to carry her out of the zone. It was a blur because it all happened so fast. He was shot, he was hurt, but he still managed to carry her to safety.

He still couldn’t explain how exactly it all happened. Hell, he didn’t remember half of it.

“Alright,” she said at that, withdrawing her hand and sitting back in her chair. “I’ll take whatever I can get. Still… thank you. For saving my life.”

“I’m sorry,” he said at that, before he even managed to think this through, but he had to say it. He felt it was important that he said it. “I never meant to hurt any of you.”

“I know,” she answered, a soft look in her eyes that made him a little uncomfortable. “That’s the worst part. I know that you would have made a good decision if you were allowed to make one. But in SHD… you never will. There will never be room to question your orders. To get to the bottom of things. You will only know what you need to know. No extensive backgrounds, no unnecessary details. And it’s those things that make all the difference in the world.”

Blaze nodded. He knew that she was right. But it was never his job to get to the bottom of things. It was his job to help people, to save them, to go in and extract, to secure control points, to make sure the civilians were safe.

He never really thought about it any other way.

“That’s true,” he said, smiling at Anna a little; she smiled back and it made him feel a little better. “But for what it’s worth, SHD is the people, the agents who risk their lives on the battlefield. There are so many good people in SHD. You know it best. And we just want to make a difference. SHD needs us now more than ever. We have to get through this.”

“You will,” she said, her smile widening a little. “You have a few good agents after all.”

She winked at him and he couldn’t help a snort that made her laugh as well. This wasn’t how he thought this conversation would go. He thought it would be exhausting, full of grudges, grievances and judgments. But it wasn’t. Well, maybe a little stressful. But it felt good to finally let it all out. To finally be able to explain and to hear an explanation on the other side.

He missed this. He missed talking to Anna.

“Okay, last question on my side,” he said, placing his hands on his head to massage his temples. “Why didn’t you let us know that you were alive? After you left with Parnell? Rhodes was almost out of his mind. We have been looking for you, pretty certain that you were dead somewhere in a dumpster. I was… I was feeling guilty. I didn’t want to hurt you. I really thought I might have killed you.”

“This one’s on me, yeah,” she answered, biting her lower lip. “I was afraid. I didn’t want to drag anyone into this, especially Rhodes. I mean, when you shot me... Theo brought me to Dragov’s Wall Street base. I was out for two days and after that I figured that what I was planning to do would be too dangerous to involuntarily pull people in. I mean, going after both SHD _and_ Keener? It’s not something you want to be dragged into against your will. I thought I was keeping everyone safe. Now I know that they... that _you_ were all just worried. I’m just glad Rhodes forgave me for this. Honestly, I still feel like shit because of what I did.”

Blaze nodded at that, understanding the reasoning behind her decision, but still a little angry about how all this played out.

“I get it,” he said after a while, looking Anna in the eyes. “I really do. I don’t really know what I would have done at that point. Still… we _were_ worried. We may not have been the best of friends, but well… there aren’t that many allies around these days. So I guess it was the reason why it hit so hard.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, the expression on her face actually apologetic and a little hurt. “I never meant to upset any of you. I believed this was the best way. Apparently I was wrong.”

Blaze nodded again and sat a little more comfortably. It did make them worry. Hell, just remembering what her disappearance did to Rhodes made him shiver involuntarily. He knew they were close but he would have never expected something like this. He was glad Anna came back. Not just because she was finally safe, but also because Rhodes was much less grumpy when she was around. She definitely was a positive influence for him.

“Anyway,” he said after a while, suddenly feeling very tired and hungry with the stress letting go of his body. “I heard you saying something about dinner. You think we could go upstairs and get some? I still have to catch up with Marta.”

“Sure,” she stood up and took the empty soda cans, tossing them into a garbage bin under the wall. “She should be in the canteen as well. I know she was glad to see you.”

“Maybe,” Blaze stood up as well and turned around to get to the staircase. “I mean, we've been through a lot together. Especially with that last mission."

“You were,” she sighed and turned the lights off in the main section of the basement. “But I think she's one of the few people who actually know the real you. The fact that you're a decent human being, that is.”

Blaze snorted again.

“You really think that I’m a decent human being?”

Anna rolled her eyes in a mocking gesture and looked at Blaze again.

“Meyer, come on,” she said, the amusement in her voice making it sound very funny. “I always did.”

Part of him knew that. But part of him was really glad to hear her say it out loud.

***

James Dragov was in the canteen a little early, his desperate need for coffee making him leave Rhodes’ office right after they were done with the first outline of their strategy. His daily routine has already been sabotaged by not enough sleep and too many things to do, so he wasn’t that strict when it came to the actual time of day. A few years ago, while he was still in the force, it would have been impossible for him to drink coffee after 3 PM because he wouldn’t be able to get enough sleep afterwards. Now however was an entirely different story. Coffee at 8 PM? Why the fuck not.

As soon as he entered the common area he noticed a few people scattered here and there, mostly Haven’s civilian inhabitants. It seemed almost unreal to see all those people enjoying themselves, cracking jokes, eating good food. He figured he might go for something to eat as well. Good meals were one of the best parts of staying at Haven.

Approaching the counter he was glad to see that there were at least a few options to choose from. And there was bread. Actual bread baked by Haven’s own baker, John. The man was awesome at his job and honestly, Dragov couldn’t remember the last time he had bread that was this good. Not this abomination Americans call bread, sweet and soft, more like a marshmallow mixed with flour - no, regular bread, with crispy crust on the outside and soft, fragrant dough on the inside. Almost as good as the bread his grandmother used to bake. Best thing ever, even if you only eat it with butter.

Placing a few sandwiches and pieces of fruit on a plate he made his way towards the coffee machine and noticed Theo sitting by the window, busy with something on his tablet, food on his plate still untouched. As soon as the coffee was ready Dragov snatched the mug and walked over to the man, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“Hey kid,” he said, taking a sip of coffee. Damn, it was a good blend. “Where’s Cupcake?”

Theo tore his eyes away from the screen, sending Dragov a frown.

“She’s talking with Meyer,” he said, his voice a little shaky. “Downstairs. She told me to go grab something to eat in the meantime but honestly… I can’t. I’m fucking scared, okay?”

Dragov grunted and took another sip of coffee. He wasn’t surprised.

“I know. But hey, it’s fine. I’m pretty sure they’re not going to kill each other while we eat. So you better dig in before your soup gets cold.”

“It’s not funny, Dragov,” Theo sighed, but reached for the bowl of soup anyway. “I mean, I know we’re on the same side now. But still… this guy almost killed me. I know he was following orders, but well, it doesn’t make me feel any better. I just... What if his next order is to go after Nova when SHD doesn’t need us anymore? What if he…”

“Hey,” Dragov grabbed one of his sandwiches and took a bite, pointing it at Theo afterwards. “Don’t. I may not be the best person to say this, especially considering that I punched him in the face, but you know it best that sometimes you have to work with people you don’t really want to in order to survive. We have a bigger picture to look at here and so do they. SHD can’t afford to turn against their allies.”

“Why are we even helping them?” Theo sighed and reached for a spoon. “Okay. Don’t answer. I know that it makes sense in terms of alliances and survival strategy. But if you had to make the decision, would you help SHD?”

“No,” Dragov nodded, finishing his sandwich. “That’s why Paul Rhodes is the leader here and I’m just his support. He’s smart in ways we never had to be. I mean, me and the Rikers, we relied on fear and power. But you can’t build anything solid on that. Look at what happened to Keener.”

Theo nodded. Dragov was right. The alliances they had to form weren’t normal but hell, the world hasn’t been normal for a while now, especially in New York. 

“I guess he got what he deserved,” Theo finally relaxed enough to start eating his soup. “I mean, he’s locked up now, isn’t he?”  
“As far as I know, yeah,” Dragov nodded and reached for another sandwich. “SHD took him God knows where and they threw away the key. I don’t think we’re ever going to see him again.”

“Good,” Theo sighed and Dragov was surprised to notice that he was already done with his soup. “As for Meyer though… I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe with him around. No matter what happens.”

“I get it,” Dragov answered and reached for his coffee again. “I do. But they’re not going to stay here forever. They’ll be gone before you know it, so I guess we just have to run with it for now.”

“I guess so,” Theo answered and sighed again, this time much heavier. “I just really hope that I won’t have to deal with him too often.”

“Me too. I’m really hoping that we manage to solve this Hunter thing soon so that we can go back to helping the settlements here in New York. I’m kinda worried, to be honest. If they start targeting Nova too… It’s going to be a problem.”

“Yeah,” Theo was obviously much calmer but also a little tired. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

It was then Dragov noticed Anna and Blaze enter the canteen as Theo was sitting with his back turned towards the door. He smiled.

“See,” he pointed towards them and Theo turned around, immediately waving at Anna. “They’re still alive.”

Anna waved back at them and stopped for a moment to say something to Blaze, the man ultimately leaving to sit with Marta. She approached the counter and placed some food on a plate, quickly making her way towards where they were seated.

“Hey,” she said, squeezing in right next to Theo. “Nice to see you, BFG.”

“Likewise, Cupcake,” Dragov smiled at her and she immediately started wolfing down her food. “So how was that little conversation of yours?”

“Exhausting,” she said between bites. “But necessary. Hey,” she turned a little to look at Theo. “You okay?”

Theo nodded and smiled at Anna, eating the last few pieces of bread still on his plate.

“Yeah,” he said after a while. “Of course I am. Now that you’re here, I mean.”

She smiled as soon as she swallowed the last bite of fruit salad. Dragov rolled his eyes and drank the remaining coffee in his mug, finishing the last sandwich as well.

“Okay, I guess it’s time for me to leave,” he said, standing up and taking the leftovers with him. “You lovebirds obviously need some alone time.”

“Can you finally admit that you’re jealous so we can drop this farce, BFG?” Anna was fast to answer and Theo laughed at that, covering his mouth with his hand. Dragov actually snorted too.

“Oh, you wish, Cupcake. Now if you excuse me,” he started walking away but turned towards the pair, raising his eyebrows. “I have some actual work to do while you sit here and get cute with each other.”

Anna rolled her eyes in return and came back to eating her food, wrapping an arm around Theo’s waist and whispering something into his ear. Dragov shook his head with disbelief as he made his way towards the exit, sighing heavily.

It was true that he had some work to do. The talk with Theo made him remember something that he was trying to push away, to file it somewhere in his brain that wouldn't be easy to access, to not have to worry. But it was there. It was there and he couldn't pretend otherwise anymore. It was this scary, underlying thought that Rhodes and Haven _might not be able to protect them_. That they were still in danger and that the threat could come from the inside, not from the outside. It could be SHD, it could be anyone. And if he wasn’t careful, if he wasn't ready, he won't be able to protect his people. The Rikers, Anna and Theo, all the people he cared about and all the people he wanted to build his future with. It's true that fear and power were never a good foundation, he still believed that. He still believed that Rhodes had a much better idea on how to thrive in a successful community. But fear and power could be useful tools. Just as connections and the people he knew.

He had to take matters in his own hands.


	5. Here We Divide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for the Hunters brings Nova and SHD to the Christmas Market in New York, where a very unpleasant surprise awaits both their task force and their R&D department.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to up the rating to E as there are a few unusually graphic and violent scenes in this chapter.  
> I would also like to thank Kampo for his invaluable help with proofreading this chapter and the action sequence. He's the man and I love him.

Marta could feel a familiar buzz under her skin, the one she always got whenever she would leave for a mission. It was something akin to excitement amplified by restlessness, usually allowing her to go on for hours and hours on end, just like drinking a double espresso would have back in the day when she was still a teacher. She needed it if she was to spend time with unusually energetic kids for half a day, answering their questions and trying to keep up with their antics. Being a primary school teacher was no joke and it definitely wasn’t a job for everyone - and yet even though she was exhausted after every single school day she still loved the job and adored the kids she was working with.

It was all over now though and there were no open schools anymore, no classes; many kids she used to teach were unaccounted for or dead due to the exposure to Dollar Flu. Just like her sister and her niece, whom she wasn’t able to find ever since this entire horror started. She was still hoping that the fact that they were listed as “unknown” in ISACs databases meant that they might be alive somewhere, trying to stay safe and keep to themselves. Many people did. As much as she was focused on trying to find them, to retrace their footsteps somehow, part of her didn’t want to know what exactly happened to them. This “unknown” state meant that there was still some hope. She was never going to stop looking for them though.

“Let’s take the left,” Skye’s voice came from right next to her, bringing her mind back to the unusually calm streets of New York. “The team went ahead to mark the targets. We’ll be at a safe distance there.”

“On it.”

Both women moved towards an alley on the left, quickly disappearing behind garbage piles and empty containers. It was unusual for the area to be so quiet though. Based on ANNA’s information the team wasn’t engaged in a fight either. Odd, but it wasn’t going to last long - the Cleaners were always busy and even more dangerous since their leader, Vivian Conley, was taken down by the Division. They were disorganized and honestly, it made them even more dangerous. Not to mention that the Black Tusk’s presence has grown more and more prominent in New York recently, especially after Faye Lau’s turn to the side of the enemy.

“We can wait here,” Skye dropped her backpack to the ground and started going through her equipment again. “Let’s check our stuff before we leave. Something tells me it won’t be long before we’re forced to engage.”

Marta nodded and did the same, checking her Fixer Drone again the way Anna showed her at the base. This one was a little different than what she was used to with the Division - apart from being able to fix the armor it had a special uplink through ANNA that allowed for better aiming. Perfect for the support team, especially if they were supposed to keep their distance until the very last moment.

“IS… uh, ANNA,” it was still hard for Marta to get used to the new AI though. “Scan the area.”

“Twelve heat signatures nearby,” a soft metallic voice came through her earpiece. “Four allies. Eight rats.”

Marta went through her gear once more, checking the magazines again to make sure that her weapons were loaded. It was something of a force of habit for her and it also calmed her down.

“I heard ANNA is quite spectacular,” Skye said to her after a while, as soon as she was done with checking her own equipment. “Shame you guys wouldn’t let us use it… _her_ , during this mission.”

“Well, it was Rhodes’ decision,” Marta was fast to answer, tapping her watch to let their teammates know that they were still in proximity. “He said a virtual network between ISAC and ANNA would be enough for an exchange of communication. And for your skills to still work like ours do even though the Hunters can jam them. I assume he had his reasons.”

“Reasons being he didn’t want to share his toys,” Skye smiled and winked at Marta, earning a smile from the woman as well. “But I get it. It’s a shame though, I really wanted to see how much better ISAC could be without the government-enforced bullshit directives.”

“Probably a lot,” Marta put her backpack back on and secured it with two additional straps around her chest and waist. Skye did the same soon after. “I mean, there are different clearance levels for ANNA and there are no database restrictions. It’s pretty useful.”

“I can only imagine,” Skye set her Police M4 firmly against her back, making sure it would be easy to reach for should the need to do so arise. “So you operate your skills based on ANNA as well?”  
“Yes. They have been upgraded quite a lot, so there’s nothing left from ISAC’s base programming there anymore. But if I needed to,” Marta looked at Skye and sent her a smug grin, “I could take over your Stinger Hive and have it attack a target of my choosing.”

“Dangerous,” Skye smiled at her as well. “But I like it.”

The two moved along in silence as soon as they were done with their equipment check, Marta pleasantly surprised with Skye’s attitude and general demeanor. She was a nice woman, even though her athletic build could be quite intimidating at first. From what she managed to find out about her before they left, it did seem like she was a very capable agent, even though she usually preferred to work alone. Her preferences didn’t get in the way of their cooperation though.

Arriving at their destination close to the Christmas Market Marta and Skye managed to find a secluded spot at a safe distance, setting down behind an abandoned car. Marta moved a few containers to obscure them from view from the left so that they would be safer. The entire Christmas market was an open area with not many places to hide, but she managed to mark a few spots nonetheless and make sure that the team knew what they could use. She noticed a few Peacekeepers scattered here and there, chasing away a patrol of the Cleaners. Nothing to worry about, but then again it was probably just calm before the storm. If the data they had was correct, this area was where they will be able to find another Hunter. Or Hunters. She had no idea.

“So I guess we wait now,” Skye took her rifle into her arms and positioned it just so that it was ready to use as soon as she saw an enemy. “The guys all set?”

“Hopefully,” Marta answered, preparing her SMG for work as well. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Both women made sure that they were secure in the spot they selected for cover and waited, trying not to attract any unnecessary attention.

***

Joaquin checked his watch to make sure what time it was - apparently the team needed to interact with some clues at an exact point of time to reveal the Hunter’s location, as weird as it might sound. The Peacekeepers did an amazing job looking for the first set of clues though. It was Rhodes’ idea to send them to look for anything suspicious that Anna and Theo managed to find after cross-referencing Hunter walking patterns with activities surrounding the Christmas Market. All that was apparently left for them to do now was to shoot a few targets placed in very specific windows. It did seem a bit weird to Joaquin that looking for the Hunters meant actively engaging in a game of cat and mouse of sorts, but apparently this was the way to find them before they managed to find _you_. There was no other way to lure them out of their hiding spot.

“Serrano,” Anna’s voice came from the speaker in his earpiece. “I have forwarded you the order in which you should interact with the targets. Make sure you follow it exactly.”

“Sure,” Joaquin answered as soon as he transferred the instructions to the entire team. “We’ll keep you posted.”

Javier was close to the first target and his shot was on point as always, making the marked plate fall down immediately.

“Barkworth,” Joaquin spoke to the man a few meters to his left, currently waiting behind a toppled car. “You get the second one. It’s going to be a short walk but I hope you manage.”

“Yes sir,” Marris immediately turned to the side and left as soon as he made sure that the area was clear.

Joaquin couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was about Barkworth that seemed so familiar. He’s never met the man before, hell, there were many Division agents he’s only seen briefly and couldn’t remember the names of. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’s definitely met Marris before. He was going to ask about it as soon as they were done with the mission.

Blaze was quiet the entire time they walked and he was also quiet now, but honestly Joaquin couldn’t be surprised. He knew it couldn’t have been easy for him to come back to Haven and to meet people who were once on the other side of the conflict, yet he seemed to be handling it surprisingly well. Joaquin was hoping that his conversation with Anna made him feel a little more secure in this unusual partnership.

“We have forty minutes to engage,” Blaze’s voice came through the comms as the man was using the scope of his M700 to scout the area. “As our support is in position I suggest we move towards the generator.”

Joaquin nodded, more to himself than to Blaze, and set a rendezvous point close to the generator. Anna and Theo told them that it was an important interaction point the Hunters used multiple times, so it was very possible that it could lead to a secret passage or something. He was a little uneasy because of how open the area was, but then again he had no idea if they were going to engage the Hunter here or if the set of clues will push them onto another wild goose chase as soon as they shoot the last target and press the button.

As if on cue he heard Javier shoot the last target and the man retreated to get to the generator, sending Joaquin a thumbs up. He answered with the same gesture and waited for Javier to join him.

“I swear to God,” the man spoke, restlessness and agitation obvious in his voice. “When I was still a Division agent we didn’t have to deal with such shit.”

“When you were still a Division agent nobody was trying to hunt us down,” Blaze joined in on the conversation, his sniper rifle secured firmly against his back. “At least not like that. I’ve seen what the Hunters do when they get you. You don’t want to know the details.”

Javier bared his teeth in a scowl.

“I’m not really surprised,” he said after a while, reaching for a shock trap attached to his backpack. “Okay, we’re close to the generator. I’m going to set a few traps just in case. Can’t be too careful with these bastards, I’m afraid.”

Joaquin nodded as Javier set the traps in the vicinity of the generator. It was getting dark and the wind was getting stronger, making Joaquin wonder whether it was going to rain. The sky was obscured by clouds ever since the morning and honestly, there weren’t many things he hated as much as an armed confrontation while he was soaking wet. Hopefully they will be able to get this over with before it actually starts to pour.

“Alright, gentlemen,” he spoke through the comms as soon as they approached the generator. “I have marked a cover spot for every single one of you. Marris, you’re in the front, close to me. Blaze, you’re going to be in the back with your sniper rifle. Javier, stay close to Blaze for the time being; hopefully we won’t have to engage just yet though. I really hate the surroundings here.”

The men nodded and assumed their positions, checking their mags and making sure that they had guns at the ready. Javier approached the generator and pushed the button after one last look around. It was empty and quiet. Surprisingly so.

“Warning,” ANNA’s voice came from the watch, making Javier feel a shiver run down his spine. “Several heat signatures detected. Status: unknown.”

Joaquin willed his body to jump behind the nearest cover, located on the opposite side of the generator than the one Marris was hiding behind. He didn’t see any movement and yet ANNA was clear. _Several heat signatures_. It definitely wasn’t a good sign.

Not waiting for another area scan Joaquin used his Pulse, noticing weird smoke coming from something that sounded a lot like a smoke grenade. _Fuck_. There were more than one of them and they obviously knew what they were doing. Trying to obscure their vision wasn’t going to stop them though.

“Four targets,” he said, suddenly grateful for the wind; it was going to get rid of the smoke faster than anticipated. “Be careful. We don’t know what weapons they are using and if they…”

He didn’t manage to finish his thought when a bullet flew so close to his head he almost felt the air move around it. He turned his head just in time to see it hit the ground next to Javier’s leg.

Javier activated the traps then and he peeked from behind the cover; two of the Hunters were suddenly immobilized. The other two however were nowhere to be found. Joaquin wanted to Pulse them again, but somehow his skill wouldn’t launch.

“Hey Anna,” he said through the comms, reaching for his gun to make sure he wasn’t open for too long. “Bad news. They jammed our skills.”

“HOW?!” An angry question came from the other side and Javier could almost see the expression on Anna’s face. “Okay. Give us a minute. I’ll try to reroute. Javier, your skills alright?”

“Negative,” Javier answered fast and he was obviously angry. “The shock traps seemed to be working, but now they’re… _fuck_!”

Joaquin immediately turned towards Javier and noticed the man engaged in a wrestle with one of the Hunters - yes, it was definitely the Hunters if the watches adorning the man’s attire were anything to go by - and fuck, he needed to find better cover.

He didn’t have enough time to find another spot though as he was forced to aim his gun when one of the Hunters appeared right in front of him, reaching for his own. Joaquin didn’t have enough time to actually shoot though; he noticed an explosive Seeker Mine approaching from where the Hunter ducked behind cover just a moment earlier. The bastard was going to get him with his own weapon. He had to run and he had to do it fast.

“Serrano,” Anna’s voice was usually comforting to hear but not then, not like this; he had to focus. Then again, she wouldn’t be talking to him if it wasn’t serious. “The Seeker he’s using is an old model. Get away from range and you’ll be fine. Twenty meters.”

“On it.”

He jumped over two metal crates and ran towards the other side, Marris covering him while he ran, his heart beating so fast he could hear the sound reverberate through his entire body.The Seeker was more persistent than he thought and it almost got him; luckily Blaze managed to shoot and deactivate it before it reached its target.

“Careful there,” it was Blaze speaking through the comms now. “The other three are close.”

Blaze was trying to aim for the Hunter currently fighting with Javier but the assailant knew what he was doing; it would be impossible to get one without the other. He cursed under his breath and steadied his hand. He _was_ going to get the bastard no matter what.

He didn’t get a chance to aim for the second time though as he suddenly heard a faint sound of footsteps, turning around just in time to shift his body weight and catch the ankles of a Hunter approaching from behind, thankful for an old Christmas sign providing cover from his chest upwards. A knife fell from the man’s hand and dropped to the ground, a twist of Blaze’s arms and his strong grip on the man’s ankles making him fall too. Blaze propped himself up quickly and reached for the man’s throat in one swift motion.

“ _You fucker_ ,” he grunted, using his legs to pin the man’s waist to the ground; he was kicking, trying to get Blaze off him, but Blaze was faster. His fist connected with the man’s chest and even though the Hunter was wearing heavy armor the hit still gave Blaze enough time to adjust his position and straddle the man’s hips as the Hunter wheezed to pull more air into his lungs, Blaze’s thighs keeping him still even though he was still trying to kick him off. Blaze tore the man’s mask away from his face and reached for his throat with one hand, gathering his wrists with the other to make sure that he wouldn’t be overpowered. Unfortunately the man was fast to react and before Blaze managed to go for his throat he bit into his forearm, sinking his teeth deep enough to break the skin. Blaze felt adrenaline rush to his head and even though the man used all his power to bite down he almost didn’t feel it; even when blood started rushing from the wound he just cursed under his breath and pushed on, this time effectively going for the man’s windpipe and pressing down _hard_.

Unfortunately, his grip on the Hunter’s wrists subsided just enough for the man to reach into his pocket and pull out another knife. Blaze bit his lower lip and went for the hand holding the knife instead; the man’s push was strong and the knife almost connected with his armpit, the Hunter going for his weak spot just under the chest piece he was wearing. It was obvious that he was well trained. Luckily Blaze wasn’t slacking during close combat training and used his legs to hold onto the man, twisting his wrists so that the knife was pointing at his neck instead. He pushed with all the force he could muster, cold sweat running down his spine, dull pain pulsing in his forearm where the Hunter bit him just a moment ago. Blood was running down his wrist but he couldn’t care less - he had to see this through to the very end.

He heard a gunshot and felt the bullet passing through the air right next to him, so he ducked instinctively and used the force of his move to headbutt the Hunter in the teeth, eliciting a loud growl for the man. It gave him just the opening he was looking for - tearing the knife away from the man’s hand he pushed it straight into his neck, twisting it just to make sure that he got the fucker for good.

The Hunter groaned again and blood started seeping from the wound, a slow trickle flowing from his mouth where his head turned to the side. Blaze didn’t have time to dwell on what just happened - the gunshot he just heard was a direct indication that another Hunter was just trying to get his head.

He rolled over from the man and laid flat against the cold concrete surface behind his cover, reaching for his rifle. His forearm was still bleeding, so as soon as he got his weapon back he used one of the bandages he was carrying around in a medkit to wrap it in a tight dressing. It wasn’t perfect, but it will have to do for now.

Hiding behind the cover again he noticed Marris leaving his position, a Crusader ballistic shield in his hand and a shotgun ready to fire in another. It was a great choice - even though the shield couldn’t give him much of an advantage in the long run it will most likely allow him to move from one spot to another without being hurt. Marris moved fast and he was obviously running towards the Hunter that Joaquin fought earlier; the man was still in the same spot but he was using a Striker Drone to gain more protection from surrounding adversaries, all the while crammed behind a big metal container that gave him cover from the back. He was aiming at Marris and trying to shoot him with his rifle; luckily Marris was unfazed and kept pushing forward, the shield vibrating with every hit it took but not failing to provide protection.

As soon as he approached the man Marris jumped behind his cover and used the shield to send him backwards with a strong push, unfortunately exposing his knees in the process. The Hunter kicked him and Marris fell down behind the crates, which made Blaze unable to follow either of them through his scope.

“Now’s your chance,” Anna’s voice suddenly came through the comms. “The jammer has to recharge. If you need to use your skills, do it now.”

Joaquin wasn’t going to wait as he deployed his Stinger Hive and sent it flying towards the agent engaged with Marris. The micro-drones caught on immediately and surrounded the man with a swarm, effectively going for his weak points. The Hunter’s scream tore through the air and was followed by a loud shot from Marris’ Super 90 shotgun, then another. Marris stood up then, peeking from behind the cover but still using the shield to hide just in case. It was obviously hard for him to stand as he was visibly shifting his weight towards his left knee, but he was mostly fine. Joaquin noticed a Fixer Drone approaching and he knew immediately that Marta and Skye must have sent it to help them in the fight. It was a good idea to have support ready in the background, although they would have been much more helpful if they could actually use their skills without limitations. It was weird that the Hunters were able to jam them too but this wasn’t the time to dwell on that. They still had two targets to neutralize and Javier was nowhere to be seen.

Joaquin noticed that the jammer was back online as their skills couldn’t be deployed once again, but he had an idea he was going to see through. Even without the technological upgrades his shield was still going to come in handy. He reached for the module on his backpack and opened it by force, unfolding the shield and making sure it kept him covered while he moved.

“ANNA,” he said, moving forward, still making sure that he was mostly covered from any possible gunfire. “Give me Javier’s location. Now.”

“Scanning,” the metallic voice made him shiver involuntarily but he didn’t hear what else ANNA had to say; he suddenly noticed movement on the left and instinctively moved the shield, the blow a Hunter was trying to go for his head with still landing but not doing as much damage as it could have. Unfortunately the Hunter still hit his head and the impact toppled him immediately, the shield luckily still in his hand. He fell to the ground with a loud grunt, a Hunter standing over him with a metal pipe, probably the one he used to hit his head. Joaquin felt his head swim and he couldn’t concentrate; he wasn’t sure if it was one or two Hunters towering over him.

“Serrano, get to cover,” Blaze’s voice came through the comms and Joaquin has never been more happy to hear the man. “I’ll cover you.”

Blaze’s next shot landed in the Hunter’s calf as the rest of the man’s body was obscured by some random Christmas decorations and he swore loudly, ducking to the left and hiding behind a rusty old car. Joaquin wasted no time though; he rolled over quickly and jumped behind a crate, his head still hurting like hell. He felt blood trickling down the side of his face and involuntarily reached out to touch it; there was a lot of it but he couldn’t feel anything but blunt pain right above his ear. Thank God for adrenaline, he thought and reached for his crossbow. He had to do it fast to make sure that the Hunter didn’t have enough time to escape.

“Get the other one, Blaze,” Joaquin said through the comms, gritting his teeth. “I’m going to take care of this fucker.”

He loaded the crossbow with an explosive bolt and waited, peeking out of his cover just long enough to make sure the Hunter was still hiding. He was going to be patient about it though. The man was cornered and there was nowhere for him to run.

“Ally found,” ANNA’s voice reached him even though he was more focused than ever. “Javier Kajika. Forty six meters. Waypoint set.”

“Fucking great,” Joaquin had to switch his shooting arm as his eye was covered with blood still flowing from the cut on his head. “Show yourself, motherfucker.”

The Hunter wasn’t leaving his cover though and Marris decided to help, arming a grenade and throwing it right behind the car. As it was one of the grenades modified by Theo it was impossible to throw back; it stuck to the ground as soon as it landed, forcing the Hunter out of his hiding spot. That was when Joaquin aimed once again and released the latch, the bolt shooting through the air in what seemed to be slow-motion. It wedged itself in the Hunter’s back and detonated a moment after, effectively downing the third adversary.

“One more to go,” This time it was Marris on the comms. “He’s hiding behind the crates. I believe Javier pulled him there to gain some close combat advantage.”

“May very well be,” Joaquin reached for his shield again, wiping the blood still trailing down his face with the back of his hand; his head wasn’t any better but it also wasn’t any worse. “I’ll be there in a minute. Javier, do you copy?”

Silence on the other end could mean two things and Joaquin was trying really hard to just assume that Javier was simply engaged in combat.

“I’ll cover your six,” Blaze spoke fast, the sound of reloading a gun audible on the other end. “It’s open now. Go!”

Joaquin tapped his watch to return to the waypoint and started moving, the shield covering him from the front and Blaze taking care of the back. ANNA was pointing him towards a stack of crates on the side of the Christmas Market, many containers and a few cars creating a secluded environment of sorts. He heard Javier before he saw him; the man’s scream was loud but it wasn’t a scream of pain, it was a scream of anger.

Javier was pulling at the Hunter’s armor, trying to wrestle the man to the ground. The Hunter wasn’t going down without a fight though; he pushed Javier towards the crates and as the man’s back connected with one of them, the Hunter pulled back a little and hid behind another crate, reloading his gun. Javier ducked down, rolled to the left and did the same, making sure that he had enough rounds in his Thompson SMG to at least stall the man. As soon as he peeked from behind the cover though the Hunter aimed at him immediately, forcing him to retreat again. Javier grunted under his breath and waited.

“Jammer recharge,” Anna’s voice came through the comms again. “Now’s your chance!”

Javier nodded to himself and deployed an Explosive Seeker Mine, sending it to follow the Hunter that was hiding behind a crate, approaching the man at the same time. He wasn’t planning on the Seeker to hurt him though; he was just planning to get his attention. As soon as the man lowered his gun to aim at the Seeker, Javier jumped from behind his cover and ran towards the man, sliding against the ground to face him right where he couldn’t aim his SMG.

“Missed me?” He said as his boot connected with the man’s masked face, sending him flying backwards as it was him who hit the container this time. Javier was on him in seconds and he reached for the knife, aiming for the man’s abdomen where his chest piece didn’t cover him fully.

Unfortunately the man was faster and reached for a metal container the size of a briefcase right next to him, catching it with both hands and moving to the side, bringing it down with so much force and speed Javier barely noticed what happened. The man aimed at his hand and crushed it beneath the container, pain shooting through Javier’s arm with intensity he hasn’t felt in a long time, maybe never. He screamed loudly and let go of the knife, the Hunter relentless in his actions as he brought the container down again and again, every single hit adding to the pain Javier was sure couldn’t get worse. And yet it did; it felt like every single bone in his hand was turned to mush, blood splattered on the ground where the Hunter kept on striking with well-planned precision, going for his wrist when he was done with all of his fingers. The pain was excruciating and Javier was sure he was going to pass out; especially when he heard the sound of a breaking bone and realized that it was _his_ bone that just broke.

“No,” the Hunter hissed through gritted teeth, hitting Javier’s wrist again and again, the man’s skin breaking because of the force just like his bones did. “But I missed _this_.”

The final blow made Javier’s vision black out for a moment because the man went for his jaw, using the container to hit him with so much force he was sure he was going to lose at least two teeth because of the impact. The next thing he noticed was a bullet going right through the Hunter’s head as the man fell to the ground, the metal container in his hand dented and covered in blood. He heard Joaquin screaming his name, closed his eyes for a second and the man was suddenly there, kneeling next to him, blood flowing down the side of his face.

“You’re… bleeding, J,” was all Javier managed to say before he realized his jaw was probably much worse than he initially thought as pain shot through his entire head.

“Yeah, no shit,” Joaquin reached for a medkit he was carrying in his backpack and laid it on the ground, reaching for Javier’s hand - or what was left of it. Judging by the expression on Joaquin’s face, it wasn’t looking good. “For fuck’s sake. I leave you for five minutes, man.”

Javier could immediately see that Joaquin was trying to keep him in good spirits because the situation was serious. He couldn’t move his hand. He couldn’t feel it. Honestly, he didn’t even want to look at it.

“Fucker,” he spat through gritted teeth, the pain in his jaw getting worse with every passing minute. Was it _blood_ that he was tasting in the back of his mouth? “Tell me... you were the one who got him, J.”

“You’re _damn right_ it was me,” Javier could feel Joaquin doing something to his hand but he couldn’t feel the hand per se. “Now lay still. I have to take care of your hand.”

“Whatever you… say, J,” Javier suddenly felt his head spin and he couldn’t help it. He had to close his eyes. Just for a second. He needed to rest.

“Stay with me,” Joaquin’s voice brought him back to reality and honestly, the underlying horror he heard in this voice made him more alert than the words themselves. “Don’t you dare fall asleep now. You’re losing blood and there’s a lot of internal bleeding. We have to take you…”

He really wanted to listen to what Joaquin had to say. He really did. But he was so tired, damn, he was _exhausted_. Joaquin’s words were like warm taffy stretched in time and space; it was so hard to focus on just one word, just one expression. He couldn’t make out what the man was saying, no matter how hard he tried. In fact the harder he tried, the worse it got. A buzz under his skin, the pain in his jaw - it was too much, far too much to handle at the same time.

He was fucked. Thoroughly _fucked_.

***

Marta and Skye were fast to join the team on the Christmas Market as soon as the fight was over, running towards where Joaquin was hunched over someone laying on the ground. Upon coming closer Marta noticed that it was Javier, his hand crushed so badly it didn’t really look like a hand anymore. Joaquin was trying to secure it somehow but with so many fractures it was incredibly hard to immobilize it.

“What the fuck,” she heard Skye say right next to her. “What the hell happened here?”

Joaquin wiped his face with the back of his hand; a wound on the side of his head was bleeding profusely.

“Fuck if I know,” he answered, feeling adrenaline leaving his system as his dull headache was slowly turning into pulsing pain. “They just appeared out of nowhere as soon as we pushed that damn button. What the hell happened to you, Blaze?”

Blaze just approached the rest of the team, helping Marris with a hand wrapped around his shoulders as the man obviously had trouble walking.

“The fucker bit me,” he answered, spitting on the ground. “Nothing too serious though. I’m fine. Barkworth is going to need medical attention though. Just like that head of yours.”

“I’ll be fine. Sit down. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

Marta ran over to Marris and helped him sit down on one of the crates, Blaze sitting down next to them as well. Skye was kneeling down next to Javier, trying to help Joaquin with the dressing.

“Thorne,” Anna’s voice came through the comms and Marta passed a medkit to Marris, turning her attention to the call. “Can you tell me what happened? None of the guys are picking up. At least I can see that they’re still alive if their vitals are anything to go by.”

“They’re mostly fine,” Marta answered, sitting down on the ground. “Kajika got it pretty bad though. They crushed his arm. It's not looking good.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. Marris needs his knee looked at and Blaze has a bite on his forearm, but they’re going to be okay. Joaquin has a wound on his head that he won’t let anyone treat until he takes care of Javier, but it doesn’t look too serious.”

“Good,” she could clearly hear Anna exhale with relief on the other side. “Can you and Skye please make sure to secure everything you can? According to the instructions I gave you before you left, of course. We’re going to need it for research. Especially the jammers. Something isn’t right.”

“You mean that they were able to jam our skills as well?”

“Yes. The last time the guys fought we were still able to operate based on skills as they were not based on ISAC’s network. It should have been the same today and yet… well, something’s changed. And I need to know what.”

“On it,” Marta took her backpack off and reached for tape and plastic bags; Anna instructed her in details on how to secure and describe equipment she was going to need. Skye was supposed to help with the cleanup after the fight was over as well. “We’ll bring whatever you need. I’ll have ANNA run an additional scan just in case.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

As soon as Anna disconnected from the call Marta immediately heard Blaze talking to Joaquin on her left.

“I told you that you didn’t want to know the details on how the Hunters treat Division agents,” Blaze’s voice was tired and slow, unsurprisingly. His backpack was on the ground now and he reached into it, going for a protein bar and a bottle of water. “Now you do. They’re sadistic, murderous psychopaths. I mean… I’ve never seen anyone enjoy _torturing_ their victims that much before.”

“Yeah,” Joaquin’s voice was strange as well, trembling a little as he was desperate to keep his eyes open long enough to somehow secure Javier’s hand but failing miserably. “I mean, I only saw a moment of this fight, but it was enough. This fucker was obviously enjoying this… massacre.”

“I saw two agents massacred beyond recognition not longer than a month ago,” Marta was surprised to see that Blaze was able to eat while talking about such scenes. “And apparently it still wasn’t the worst thing that the Hunters have done. They obviously enjoy killing. And they’re skilled, so they go for a bit of fun before they finish their victims off. As cruel as this may sound. Luckily, their confidence sometimes gets the best of them.”

“The important question is,” Marris jumped in, pain obvious in his voice. “How the fuck did they manage to jam our skills? Weren’t we supposed to be safe as long as we piggyback everything off ANNA?”

“We were,” Marta answered, ready with the first set of containers and tape. “That’s the worst thing, actually. It probably means they’re onto Nova as well and that we didn’t have as much time as we initially thought.”

Joaquin bit his lower lip and sighed. Apart from what Marta just said there was one other thing he couldn’t stop thinking about. For the first time in a very long while he had absolutely no idea what to say and how to go about it, and he knew Javier will be asking questions as soon as he comes to. And he had no idea what he was going to say.

He knew what _needed_ to be done. He’s seen injuries like these before, hell, he’s _treated_ them. But without specialized equipment there wasn’t much left for him to work on. He knew what he had to do and yet he had absolutely no strength to see it through.

Javier was probably going to hate him for it as well.


	6. Event Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the team tries to uncover the reason behind Hunters being able to jam ANNA, Dogman makes Dragov realize that he's made a grave mistake. Joaquin has to confront his own emotions because of what happened to Javier.

Dragov managed to duck at the last possible moment, Joaquin’s fist missing his head by two inches. He smirked and caught the man’s arm, bending it behind Joaquin’s back.

“Okay, okay,” Joaquin kneeled down to avoid his arm being twisted too much. “That’s it. I’m done. You won this time.”

Dragov let go of the man and smirked, extending his arm to help him get up from the floor. It has been about two months since they managed to set up a gym of sorts in one of the buildings adjacent to Haven and it has been serving them well ever since. Joaquin grabbed the man’s hand and pulled himself up, standing upright and dusting off his clothes. They still had to do something about the floor - for now it was just concrete. Luckily they had some workout equipment there as well, including weights and a few exercise machines they brought over from a nearby school.

“I told you,” there was a slight mocking undertone to Dragov’s voice. “My legs are much better now. I mean, it wasn’t easy to get back to my workout routine, but this? For a while I was sure that I would never be able to do what I just did ever again,” Dragov reached for a water bottle and a piece of cloth he used as a towel to wipe the sweat from his face. “And yet it’s not that bad. Of course it’s far from perfect, but still. I’d say it’s pretty impressive, all things considered.”

Joaquin reached for a piece of cloth as well, wiping his face too and stretching his arms a bit. He smiled. Dragov was actually a pretty good sparring partner and it’s been a while since he was able to do a regular workout. And it was true that the man was making progress.

“It is,” he answered after a while, leaning against a wall and catching his breath. “You still have to be careful though. I’m not sure how much force your legs will be able to withstand. But if you keep up with the training, building muscle can actually help. It’s not going to cure you though. Please keep that in mind.”

“I do,” Dragov answered and drank an entire bottle of water in one go. “And I _am_ careful. I just hate sitting around. It’s been more than half a year. It’s about time I finally helped around more.”

Joaquin sent Dragov a mocking glare.

“ _Finally_?,” he asked after a while, standing back up and reaching for his hoodie that he left on the floor earlier. “You have your own stuff too. And you _do_ help a lot, man.”

“I know,” Dragov sighed, leaning against the wall next to Joaquin. “But I hate feeling… powerless. Now I can at least protect myself if anyone decides to take a swing at me.”

Joaquin smiled in response, but then he looked at a notification on his watch and sighed.

“Just make sure to stay safe. I have to go for a shower now and check on Javier. I’ll be around tomorrow for another sparring though.”

“Great,” Dragov answered and looked at his own watch. He noticed a few messages from Dogman urging him to contact the man immediately. He felt a little unsettled; Dogman never did that before. “I’ll see you around then.”

Joaquin waved his hand and left the room. Dragov knew better than to keep asking about Javier’s state. It was bad and everybody knew that. Additional questions made Joaquin strangely irritated. Dragov assumed he might be feeling guilty about what happened, but decided not to pry. So he put on his jacket and decided to leave as well. He was planning to make the call on his way to Haven’s main building and have a smoke on the way as well. As soon as he stepped outside, a gust of cold wind swept his breath away from his lungs. He cursed under his breath, but made the call anyway.

“Hey man,” he said as soon as Dogman answered on the other side. “What’s the hurry?”

“l’ll tell you what’s the hurry,” Dogman’s voice was on edge, panicky. “The shipment of parts. For security systems. Where did they come from?”

Dragov blinked with surprise. What was the man getting at?

“What does it matter?”

“It does matter _a fucking lot_ , because I just noticed a Black Tusk logo on one of the crates. Please tell me this is just a coincidence.”

Dragov sighed and reached into his pocket to fish out a cigarette that he lit immediately.

“It’s not,” he said after a while. “I got some parts from the Black Tusk. I’m trying to work out a deal with them, okay? And it’s fine.”

Dogman fell silent on the other side and Dragov honestly didn’t know what to make of it. 

“Please tell me you didn’t just say what I think you said,” the man answered after a while, taking a deep breath. Dragov was surprised with Dogman’s tone. What was that supposed to mean?

“I said what I said,” he answered, anger obvious in his voice. “Now tell me what this is about, Paul. I have work to do.”

“For fuck’s sake, Dragov,” Dogman’s voice on the other side was just as angry, just as on edge. “When I ask you about the shipment of parts meant for Haven’s security systems you don’t just say that they came from the Black Tusk. This is madness. I hope it’s just a very bad joke, man.”

Dragov exhaled a puff of smoke and felt a headache approaching. This wasn’t the right time and the right way to explain everything to Paul. Unfortunately it seemed like there was no other way.

“Listen,” he said after a while, trying to sound as calm as possible. “I don’t know what the fuss is about. It’s just parts. The nerds scrap everything anyway and use the components to build new things. They never ask about where any of it comes from.”

Dogman was breathing heavily on the other side, obviously trying to calm down.

“Okay,” he said after a while, a loud thump audible on the other side meaning that he probably just sat down somewhere. “Okay. First of all, you know why they don’t ask. You tell the Rikers to remove all signatures from the parts so they can't really know. Second of all… how long has this been going on? Third of all, Dragov, what the fuck? Why didn’t you think that consulting with me might have been a good idea?”

“Hey!” Dragov almost shouted, his facial expression turning more angry by the second. “I don’t see why this is a big deal. I needed to see if I could work something out with them. And besides…”  
“How long, Dragov?” Paul interrupted him brutally. “How long?”

He inhaled the smoke again to calm himself down a bit.

“A week. Maybe two. Why do you ask?”

“Two weeks. Two fucking weeks. And you never thought to let me know?”

“Hey, you know it best that we take whatever we can from wherever we can. There are things I could get from the Black Tusk only. You never ask about any other components, why is _this_ such a big deal?”

“Jesus,” Dogman exhaled loudly and honestly, the horror Dragov heard in his voice made him a little worried too. “You honestly don’t know? How long ago was it that Nova and SHD approached the Hunters for the first time?”

“Don’t really remember. Three weeks?”

“Right. And the last time?”

“Four days ago. I don’t see why the fuck…”

“Okay. Let me explain, because I’m panicking here and I need to gather my thoughts,” the tone of Dogman’s voice was really disturbing and unsettling. “Three weeks ago the team approached the Hunters for the first time and managed to down them because their jammers didn’t work. But it was entirely different four days ago. The Hunters jammed both ISAC and ANNA. The only thing that changed during that time was the type of parts they used for reinforcement. That shipment of microchips for hives and seeker mines they brought in last, was it from Black Tusk too?”

“Yes, but…”

“Okay. You need to talk to Rhodes immediately. And Anna. They need to know. This could be dangerous, man. If the Hunters…”

“Wait!” Dragov was the one to shout this time as he interrupted Dogman mid-sentence. “Wait. You keep talking about the Hunters but I don’t see how they relate to the Tusks. We know some Tusk patrols actually scared Hunters away. There’s no correlation between the two, so why do you make it sound like there _is_?”

“Because _there fucking might be_!” Dogman was screaming again and Dragov winced at the volume coming from the phone’s speaker. “Fuck’s sake, man, we have no idea who those fuckers are. And they could be connected to the Tusks for all we know. We have no proof but then again we don’t have any the other way around either. And if they are, this could be bad. You have to talk to Rhodes immediately. If you don’t, I will.”

Dragov frowned at that and wanted to throw in another angry comment, but stopped himself at the last second. Paul was right. He never thought about it before, but the man was _right_. They had no idea about the origins of both the Hunters and the Black Tusk. For all they knew, they could be connected. He never thought about the fact that the Hunters’ jammers were able to work on ANNA too, he never connected the facts, but if it was because of the Black Tusk microchips that they used?

Fuck.

It could be a fucking _disaster_.

Especially since they used the parts for Haven’s security systems too.

“Alright,” Dragov said after what seemed like eternity. “I will. I’ll make this right.”

“You better. And call Schaeffer or whoever it was in the Tusks that you talked to and tell them the deal is off, whatever the deal might have been. Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t trust the Black Tusk? Why change your mind, man?”

“I didn’t change my mind,” Dragov tried to remain calm and surprisingly, taking deep breaths actually worked. “I wanted to ensure Haven’s survival. The survival of my people. The one thing that Rhodes cannot guarantee if he associates himself with the Division.”

Paul took a deep breath on the other side and sighed a moment later. Dragov truly didn’t know what to make of this.

“Okay,” the man said after a while, his voice much calmer now. “I get it. I get where this is coming from. But this was a bad idea, man. A _very_ bad idea. Hopefully it’s not too late to make things right. Now if you excuse me, I have to go through the shipments and identify all parts that came from the Tusks. And you… go talk to Rhodes. Now.”

Dragov disconnected the call without saying another word and put the phone back into his pocket, reaching for another cigarette. As soon as he lit it up he took a deep breath again and closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing thoughts.

How could he be so stupid?

Why the fuck didn’t he talk to Dogman about this earlier?

Why didn’t he put two and two together as soon as the Hunters jammed ANNA?

So many thoughts were racing through his head he didn’t know which one to follow first, so he decided to speed up and get to Haven immediately, even though the sinking feeling he felt somewhere around his stomach made him want to run away instead.

He wasn’t going to talk to Rhodes though. The man would have killed him on the spot.

He was going to talk to Anna first.

***

Dragov was surprised to find out that the workshop Anna and Theo usually worked at was empty. The lights were out and even the computers were turned off, which was very unusual. He tapped his watch to give Anna a call but she didn’t pick up. Instead, she sent him a message that said _movie night, first floor_.

He almost forgot about the every-Friday tradition that has been introduced in Haven around a month ago. Marta and Joaquin managed to find an old projector screen and a barely-working PS4 during one of their supply runs. They brought it back to Haven and Theo repaired the console, setting it up in one of the bigger rooms upstairs together with a projector he built from scraps. They also managed to find a few DVD and Blu-Ray discs in some abandoned shops and decided to bring it all back to Haven. At first the setup was supposed to be temporary, just so the civilians staying at Haven would have something to keep their mind off things. At some point though it became a weekly activity - most of the base would sit in what used to be a conference room and watch a movie or two every Friday. They would bring blankets and snacks if there were any, taking this opportunity to relax and unwind. Dragov never managed to take part in a movie night himself but he knew that Anna and Theo really enjoyed them.

He turned around and went upstairs, going for the room in question. The door was open and as soon as he peeked in, he noticed people scattered around the area, most of them sitting on the floor or on some crates in the back. Blaze and Marta were there, sitting together with Barkworth and talking about something quietly. The movie was already on and surprisingly most of the people were actually following the events unfolding on the big white screen. Even though most of them have probably seen _About time_ at least a few times by then.

He finally noticed Anna and Theo sitting next to a wall, both covered with an old blanket. Theo’s head was resting on Anna’s shoulder and he was obviously dozing off. Dragov approached them quietly and sat down next to Anna, a questioning look on her face.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, trying to appear calm. “It’s important.”

“Can’t it wait until movie night is over?” Anna gestured towards Theo with her head, the man obviously sleeping. “He just fell asleep.”

“He doesn’t have to come,” Dragov felt the unfamiliar and unwelcome feeling of panic settling in his stomach once again. “But it’s _very_ important, Cupcake.”

Anna sighed and tried to maneuver herself in a way that wouldn’t wake Theo up. He mumbled something when she let him slide to the ground and rest on top of the blanket, but luckily didn’t wake up. Before she stood up though, she took off her hoodie and folded it in a neat square, gently placing it under Theo’s head and wrapping the blanket around him as much as she could. She bent down to kiss his cheek and then stood up slowly, following Dragov downstairs to the workshop.

“Sorry,” she said, turning the lights back on. “He was up late to do some work on the Fireflies. He’s been dozing off for the entire day today, even though I told him to go and take a fucking nap. Sometimes I…” She wanted to say something more but the serious look on Dragov’s face suddenly made her stop. “Okay. I see this is indeed very serious. What’s going on?”

Dragov sat down on one of the tables in front of Anna, sighing deeply. There was no reason to dance around the subject.

“Some of the parts we have been bringing in for the last two weeks,” he tried to avoid looking her in the eyes but couldn’t, guilt forcing him to look at her directly. “They came from the Black Tusk.”

Anna blinked fast and kept looking at him, almost as if she couldn’t believe what he just said.

“Excuse me,” she said after a while, her voice much quieter now. “They came from _where_?”

Dragov crossed his arms in front of his chest to hide his discomfort. He hated being wrong. He hated making mistakes. But this was more important than his pride, probably more important than anything else.

“I fucked up, okay?” he said, shrugging a little but still keeping eye contact with Anna. “They were the only ones who could deliver some of the chipsets that you requested. And I wanted to test the waters with them. I had no idea this could be… that there could be a fallout. And I’m fucking angry with myself now, okay?”

Anna didn’t say anything but Dragov noticed her eyes darting around the room. She was visibly going through something in her head and the next minute she was lounging to the other side of the workshop, pulling a box out of a drawer and using tweezers to fish out something that looked like a miniature circuit board.

“We used those for the recent seeker mine updates,” she said more to herself than to Dragov, using one of the magnifying glasses she had next to her desk to take a better look at the item in question. “But there’s no Black Tusk signature. I know for a fact that they mark every single item in their possession, no matter how tiny. Are you sure that this is Black Tusk?”

“I am,” Dragov answered, feeling even more disappointed with himself at her words. “The Rikers remove all signatures from the parts before reselling. And before delivery. So that there’s no way people would know our supply routes.”

Anna’s eyes widened at that, darting around the room again and finally settling on a tablet resting on a nearby chair. She reached for it and started going through something furiously.

“So you’re saying,” she said after a while, her voice quiet but terrified, _terrifying_ in a way. “That all the parts we used for the mines, and for the hives, oh, and the security systems here as well… came from the Black Tusk?”

“Most likely, yeah.”

“For fuck’s sake, Dragov!” Anna shouted at him and honestly, it was the first time he’s seen her so _furious_. “Every single piece of tech we get from them is basically their way in. Why the fuck didn't you tell me that it was Black Tusk? I could have checked for tracking protocols or scanning devices and dismantled them if necessary. But this… fuck, I wouldn’t be surprised if they knew the base in and out by now. I have to physically remove every single component from every single device and either destroy it or run hundreds of tests. This is going to take _weeks_ and we _don’t fucking have weeks_ , man!”

Dragov felt cold sweat running down his back at her words, but he was determined not to let it show. There was still one thing he had to tell her about.

“Dogman said,” he spoke after a moment, the quiet tone of his voice surprising him. “That it might have been the reason why the Hunters were able to jam ANNA. Because of the Black Tusk tech. Because they might be working together.”

Anna looked like someone just hit her in the stomach, hard, and it was so much worse to see her like this. Angry, he was fine with. He knew and understood angry. But disappointment was something he always dreaded. The look on her face suddenly made him feel small and defeated. He hasn’t felt that in more than three years.

“Dogman might be right,” she spoke after a while, running towards another shelf and pulling out one of the jammers they brought with them. “They wouldn’t need to hack ANNA for that. They could just tune in with the chipsets. For fuck’s sake, Dragov. If it worked on the skills, it might work on our security systems as well. And if it does, we’re done for. We have to rewire the systems ASAP. Call Theo. Tell him it’s urgent. I’ll gather what we need and then we go outside. There’s no time to waste.”

He sat there for a while, completely still, looking at Anna running from one shelf to another, gathering different tools and some measuring devices, a laptop and a few things Dragov had no idea about. He shook it off soon however and used his watch to call Theo, his sleepy voice on the other side another reason for him to feel guilty. Yes, he fucked up. Yes, he didn’t assess the consequences right. Yes, it was stupid.

But now wasn’t the time to feel sorry for himself, now was the time to act.

“What else do you need me to do?” he asked, getting up from the table.

“Hold this,” Anna handed him a box filled to the brim with cables and some pieces of hardware the man wasn’t able to identify. “And we have to talk to Rhodes. He needs to know. I’ll call him and ask him to meet us outside.”

Dragov nodded. Talking to the man was the last thing he wanted to do, but there was no way around it. He fucked up and he was ready to accept the consequences.

Hopefully it wasn’t too late.

***

Joaquin was restless and a little on edge. Unfortunately, the shower didn’t help. There was this sad, heavy weight somewhere around his stomach that he couldn’t shake no matter what. Ever since they came back from that mission, ever since he had to make the decision he couldn’t sleep well and didn’t really have an appetite. He had to force himself to eat every single day because he kept telling himself that he had to stay healthy, that he had to stay on top of things. But it was so hard to stay on top of things when your friend was hurt and the only thing you could have done to help him was hurt him even more. He tried not to think about it, tried to busy himself with other things, with training, helping around Haven. But somehow this case was much harder than any other one; it might have been because he and Javier really became friends throughout all this time and frankly, something kept telling him that it was going to end soon. Not because what happened was his fault - but because as much as Javier was ready to cope with almost everything life threw at him, he wasn’t ready to cope with the loss of a limb.

Joaquin knew as soon as he saw the extent of Javier’s injuries - there was no way to save his arm. He’s seen things like that earlier, yes, but in different times and under different circumstances - now there would be no way to perform a complex surgery in time. The events after their return from the mission were a blur - Joaquin remembered tears obscuring his view, blood trailing down his face and into his eyes, a quick decision before Javier lost consciousness again. He remembered Javier nodding at the question he asked, remembered him nodding as soon as he said it - _either we amputate or you’re going to die. Please allow me to do this._ And he nodded, of course he nodded, everything was better than dying of excruciating pain or sepsis. Joaquin had to ask five people to help him with the transradial amputation and he’s never been through any procedure more exhausting in his entire life - both physically and mentally.

At first he worried that he would have to go above the elbow; luckily it was enough to amputate through the radius and ulna of the lower arm roughly ten centimeters below the elbow. Of course they weren’t equipped to deal with such blood loss and such procedures properly and he had to improvise. A lot. Luckily he managed to salvage enough skin to cover everything properly. It took him six exhausting hours to make sure that everything was fine, that Javier was going to wake up and that he would live when the procedure was done. As soon as he took the gloves off and washed his hands and face he just sat down on the ground and started crying. He needed it more than actual rest. He needed it because he was weeping over his own inability to help more and over Javier’s loss. And over the fact that he didn’t manage to help him in time during the fight. Maybe also over the fact that he hasn’t cried in a very long time and he just needed to let it all out.

They didn’t talk about it when Javier woke up. None of them mentioned what happened, but Joaquin knew that they had to have this conversation at some point. Javier needed to know his options and needed to make some decisions. It wasn’t going to be easy to get used to this new way of life, but there were ways to make it less exhausting. He already talked about it with Anna and even though it would take time, she could help with finding and fitting a prosthesis. But there was still a long way before them to get to that point. Now Javier needed a friend. And Joaquin was trying very hard to just _be_ that friend.

He entered one of the makeshift hospital wings on the first floor of Haven, the newest one they set up after Joaquin extended the search and rescue team. Javier was one of the three people there, but every one of them had a separate bed and just the right amount of privacy thanks to some makeshift curtains they managed to set up. Javier seemed to enjoy the peace and quiet. Besides, not many people except Joaquin were paying him visits. They were probably just as scared or just as sorry and truth be told, Javier needed none of that at the time. So Joaquin was actually glad that they left him alone.

He approached the corner of the room where Javier’s bed was obscured with a curtain, pulling it back a bit to see the man laying on the bed, unmoving and focused on the view behind the window. It was one of the only four beds in the entire room that had access to windows and Joaquin was the one who demanded they placed him there. Anything that could help him take his mind off things was beneficial.

“Hey there,” Joaquin tried to make his voice sound as sympathetic as possible, but he wasn’t able to hide the pained undertone. “How are you feeling today?”

Javier tore his eyes from the window and moved his head slowly, looking at Joaquin but not looking him in the eyes.

“Been better,” he answered through gritted teeth, probably due to pain and exhaustion. “And how about you, J? You don’t look too good.”

Joaquin snorted at that and sat down on a stool next to Javier’s bed, reaching for clean gauze and a saline solution ready on the bedside table. He motioned at Javier to show him his arm and the man did; reluctantly, of course, but Joaquin was the doctor here and there was no use arguing with him. Javier already made that mistake once, around three months before. Now he just obeyed whenever Joaquin told him what to do.

“Because I don’t sleep too good, Javier,” he sighed and untangled the bandages surrounding Javier’s stump. “Are we going to talk about this? Everything that happened? Because I’m not going to lie, it’s a really heavy weight on my chest right now.”

Javier looked him in the eyes then, finally _looked_ at him. And honestly, it might have been better if he never did. Joaquin didn’t like feeling exposed, open. This was exactly how he was feeling right now. Amplified to a thousand by the restlessness he couldn’t shake.

“You saved my life, man,” Javier said after a while, the tone of his voice surprisingly warm, probably for the first time ever. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

Joaquin had to turn around then to make sure that he didn’t start crying again. He pretended that he had to get some more gauze and reached for one of the packets, obscuring his face from Javier’s view. He didn’t want to show too much. The man needed his support, dammit. Tears were not going to help anything.

“But I had to take your arm,” he said after a while, trying to mask the tremor in his voice. “I had to cut it off. I wasn’t able to save it. You could be fine, mate. If only we had better equipment, if only I had more time and, I don’t know, an actual operating table. But I… I couldn’t have done anything. I’m so sorry.”

Fuck. He didn’t mean to say any of these things. Neither did he plan to. But as soon as he started talking, the words just kept going by themselves. 

Javier moved then and used his good hand to catch Joaquin’s wrist, forcing the man to look him in the eyes. He wanted to hide from his gaze, but it was impossible at that point. He was an open book now and there was no point in trying to hide anything anymore. He felt his hands shake, but luckily managed to prevent the tears from falling.

“None of what happened was your fault,” Javier said after a while, the grip he had on Joaquin’s wrist firm, but solid. “J, _you saved my life._ You got the fucker who did this to me. There’s nothing else you could have done. It’s a shit outcome, yes. You had to take my arm, yes. But I would be dead if you didn’t. Nobody else… would have really done anything like that for me. You’re probably the only friend I have. You have nothing, _nothing_ , to be sorry for.”

Joaquin’s breath hitched and he tried to pull his arm a little to set his wrist free, but Javier’s grip was relentless. There was also no way for him to turn his gaze away from Javier’s eyes. The man was looking at him with a mix of certainty, pain and gratitude; a mix of emotions that always made Joaquin uneasy, especially coming from those close to him. He sighed and tried to smile, but couldn’t. The grimace was probably anything but a smile.

“Javier, I just…” he tried to say something, probably to make some kind of excuse, but Javier was faster.

“I’m not letting go until you tell me you understand,” he said, shaking his wrist formly. “And until I see that you do.”

He wanted to say sure, wanted to say thank you, we’ll get through this. But he couldn’t because he just didn’t feel it. Nothing was going to be okay, nothing was going to be the way it was. But then again, nothing has been okay for quite a while now.

And he could never get used to those close to him suffering.

“I understand,” he tried, but his voice and his eyes probably gave his real feelings away because Javier just snorted in response.

“You don’t, J,” he said after a while. “So let me explain. I have lost many people along the way, worked with even more. But none of them would have done what you did for me. None of them would have cared enough. None of them would be beating themselves up over having to do what you did. Hell, The Division never cared about me even half as much as you do. I have no idea where it’s coming from and I never felt like it would be important. But it _is_ important. So I’m refusing to let my only friend feel like shit just because he did what had to be done. I lost an arm. It’s shit that you had to be the one to do it. But it’s not your fault. I should have known better too, I should have never engaged in close combat with that fucker. But I did and that’s on me. Not you. The only thing that’s on you is saving my life. That’s how I see it. And that’s how you should see it too.”

Joaquin sniffled to chase the tears away and it actually worked. Javier smiled at that, pain obvious in his expression, but the smile softened his usual frown a lot. He almost seemed like a completely different man.

“Thank you,” Joaquin finally spoke after what felt like hours. “I… I think I understand now. It still makes me feel like shit, but it’s good to know that you still think of me as a friend.”

“I would be stupid if I didn’t,” Javier snorted again and finally let go of Joaquin’s wrist, allowing the man to soak the gauze with saline and get to cleaning his stump. “As I said. You’re my _only_ friend. Considering I don’t have many, I’m really grateful for the one I do.”

Joaquin finally felt the need to smile and he did just that, this time _actually_ smiling.

“Well,” he added after a while, finishing the cleaning and reaching for fresh bandages to put around the stump. “It’s good to know you think of me as a friend. And the feeling’s mutual, by the way, so both as your physician _and_ your friend I have to ask if you ate something today.”

“I did,” Javier laughed a little, making Joaquin feel much better; almost as if an invisible weight had been lifted from his chest and he was finally able to breathe again. “For the first time since we came back, actually. Not too much, but I got some bread and soup. Should be enough for now.”

“Good,” Joaquin patted the man’s arm as soon as he was done with the dressing. “And fluids?”

“You want to know if I went to the bathroom too?”

“I don’t need or want any details. Just if anything is out of the ordinary.”

“Everything’s fine. And I drank all the water they brought in here today. So I’m probably going to be okay.”

Joaquin nodded and put Javier’s old bandages away, leaving the saline solution back on the bedside table. He was going to need it in the morning too. He sat back on the stool and relaxed visibly, letting his shoulders drop a little and flexing his neck a few times.

“I also came to tell you,” he said after a while, as soon as Javier was comfortable in the bed again. “That Anna can fit a prosthesis for you. As soon as your stump is healed. It’s not going to be perfect, of course, but it could be useful in your day to day activities. We can use the 3D printers here and build something that would work for you. We have to wait a few more weeks though.”

Javier turned a little to look at his bandaged stump, sighing audibly.

“Sure,” he answered after what seemed to be careful consideration. “I mean, I didn’t think it would be possible. But if she can do it, then I’m all for it. I don’t want to be dead weight.”

“Hey, don’t think like that. You could never be dead weight, not with your abilities. And I’ve seen worse do really good with prosthetics. So my suggestion is that we make sure you get better and then we plan ahead for the prosthetics. How does that sound?”

Javier nodded and smiled again. It was strange to see him smile under circumstances like these, but Joaquin was going to take what he could get. Everybody has a different coping mechanism. And hell, he just might be able to finally get a good night’s sleep.

“Perfect. Another question though,” Javier looked at the man again, an inquisitive look in his eyes. “Why aren’t you taking part in this whole movie night thing? I remember you liked those.”

Joaquin laughed. It was not a question he was expecting.

“I’m afraid it’s almost over now,” he said truthfully; it was already getting late. “I didn’t feel like it today. I wanted to come by and check on you.”

“Much appreciated. Although I’m sure the movie would have been much more interesting.”

“I doubt that. I have seen _About time_ six times by now. I know every single line of every single scene.”

“Aww. I always knew you were a romantic at heart.”

“What can I do. I like heartfelt movies. Although I’ll never admit how many times I’ve cried during those.”

Javier laughed again and Joaquin suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the outside. Javier apparently heard it too, because he went quiet in a second. Joaquin stood up and approached the window, opening it a little to check it out. He let some cold wind inside, but apart from that nothing unusual. The area around Haven was dark, there was no movement.

“What the hell was that?” Javier asked, turning his face to look at the window. Joaquin stood silent for a while, listening. No additional sound came though.

“Probably just some animals rummaging through rubbish,” he said and released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It didn’t sound like animals. It was more like…”

Javier didn’t manage to say anything else because the sound came again and this time it was impossible not to hear it. It was close. It was probably on Haven’s grounds.

It was an explosion followed by screams and gunshots.


	7. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You reap what you sow. Dragov learns it the hard way.

“So what do you say? How are you holding up after Lau decided to… you know?”

Paul Rhodes and Alani Kelso were sitting in his office, taking a break to finally talk without interruptions. Alani brought herself a cup of tea. Rhodes however was more into beer, so he was sitting in a chair with a half-empty bottle now. At first he was very careful with his supply, considering that it was almost impossible to find beer anywhere anymore. At some point in time though he decided to just fuck it. He was going to run out anyway sooner or later. Might as well enjoy himself in the meantime.

“I’m holding up fine,” Kelso was obviously relaxed, feeling more at peace in Haven now, steadily getting used to the new order of things ever since she arrived with the three agents a while earlier. “But I’m not going to lie, Rhodes. It shook us all pretty bad. I mean, there are people you kind of expect to turn on you, people who have problems with authority. Lau was never that kind of person. If I had to point towards someone with a resolve basically set in stone, it would have been her. I guess it was a good lesson for us.”

Rhodes nodded and took a sip of his beer. He never liked Lau, but that was mostly because she just wasn’t an amicable human being. And she was bossy as fuck. He still would have never thought that she of all people would have been the one to turn her back on SHD.

“Surprised me too, you know,” he sighed and adjusted his baseball cap. “I would have expected many things from her. You know we never saw eye to eye. But this? It was fucked up. And for her to join the Black Tusk? I would have expected many things, but not that.”

Kelso nodded and busied herself with her tea, taking a few sips and placing the mug on her thigh.

“Some people say,” she said after a while, her voice quiet and careful. “That it might have been a while. Since she started working with them, I mean. Who knows what details she was able to share with Schaeffer. That’s the worst part, you know. We didn’t just lose a commanding officer. We might have lost a lot of crucial information. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was connected with those Hunters somehow.”

“Doesn’t matter what the background is,” Rhodes took a long final sip of his beer and placed the empty bottle next to his desk. “We have to get to the bottom of this. These fuckers are dangerous and they don’t threaten just SHD. If the last encounter was anything to go by, they might be breathing down the necks of Nova too. So we have to be careful. And we have to be smart. I wouldn’t…”

Rhodes was suddenly distracted by a notification popping up on ANNA’s interface. The fact that it was a call from Anna was also surprising. He excused himself from Kelso with a gesture and picked up the call.

“Rhodes,” he immediately felt an ice cold ball lodge itself in his stomach. Anna was rarely shaken up; this time however it seemed like she was panicking. “I have something very important to tell you. And I’m probably going to need your help.”

“Everything okay, kiddo?” He asked, worry obvious in his voice. “Weren’t you taking part in this movie night bullshit?”

“First of all, it’s not bullshit,” he snorted at the offended tone in Anna’s voice. “Second of all, I have just been informed that some of the parts we received recently came from the Black Tusk. We used some of them for our security systems and some of them to upgrade the skills.”

Rhodes blinked fast, hearing what she was saying, but hoping to God or whoever was still left up there that it was some kind of a joke.

“How… what do you mean, _Black Tusk_?”

Anna sighed on the other side and Rhodes heard loud shuffling of material accompanied with a howl of wind; apparently she was outside.

“I don’t have time to explain now,” she said, the exertion in her voice meaning that she was working on something in this very minute. “I’m outside with Theo and we’re trying to rewire some of the security systems. We’re going to need your help though. Can you please join us by the second entrance? We’re going to need some stuff from the basement too. Also, can you send an ANNA-wide order not to use the hives and seeker mines? We believe those might have been upgraded with Black Tusk chipsets too.”

Rhodes stood up immediately, a surprised expression forming on Kelso’s face. He was going to explain everything soon, but for now he had to focus. He reached for a jacket and started putting it on.

“What do we need?”

“Connectors. Cables. Two plates from shelf seven. If you manage to bring the entire box 45, we’re probably going to be good to go. Oh, and bring gloves. It’s fucking freezing out here.”

“On it. I’ll be there soon.”

He ended the call and sent Kelso an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, Alani,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll have to continue this conversation some other time. I have to go outside and help with the security systems. Speaking of the devil… I was just informed that some of the parts we installed came from the Black Tusk. We need to get rid of them ASAP.”

“Fuck,” Kelso stood up as well, leaving her mug on the desk. “How did that happen?”

“Don’t know yet,” Rhodes snatched a pair of gloves he always had handy next to his desk. “But I have to get going. The nerds are waiting for me outside. They want to rewire some of the stations.”

“Is there any way I can help?”

Rhodes wanted to say that no, he was going to handle it, but let’s face it. Any pair of hands counts.

“Sure thing,” he said after a while, stuffing his pockets with the gloves and wrapping a scarf around his neck. “Get dressed and meet me in the basement. We’re going to have quite a lot to carry.”

***

Dragov was outside with Anna and Theo, holding open the casing on one of the bigger assault turrets that have been mounted outside. Anna was doing something with the tracking system while Theo was working on the wires; he had to take his gloves off and work with his bare hands. The wires were incredibly thin, which resulted in his fingers bleeding now due to the fact that one careless move usually cost at least one cut. Normally he would be using tweezers to work with them, but there was no time to waste. He was cursing under his breath, holding a small flashlight between his teeth to make sure that he had enough light.

“Fuck this shit,” Dragov heard Anna speak from somewhere above him, holding a panel that would close without someone keeping it open by force. “Theo, I’m going to place the new circuit board close to the SPL-2 one. Make sure the wires connect to that too.”

“ _Ohn eet_ ,” Theo was apparently trying to say _on it_ but it wasn’t easy with a flashlight in his mouth.

“You guys need any more help?” Dragov had to speak loudly due to the gusts of wind blowing around them. Fuck, it was cold. Standing next to Anna he could see that she was shaking.

“We’re good here,” she said after a while, closing the panel with a loud thud. “Rhodes will be here soon anyway. Theo, you okay?”

Theo was apparently done with the wires as he was wiping his bloody fingers with his scarf now, the flashlight back in his pocket.

“I’m done,” he said, eyeing his fingers carefully. “We have to get to the next turret. Hopefully we have some time to…”

He didn’t manage to finish as they all heard an explosion nearby. Anna and Dragov stilled, lookin with horror towards the direction of the sound. And then came another one. This time much closer, sending debris falling everywhere. Before anyone managed to react, Dragov pulled Anna and Theo down from the turret, effectively saving them from being blown away when the next charge hit a little too close.

“What the actual fuck?!” Was all Theo could muster before Dragov shoved them both under the construction, panels of the turret shielding them from the back and from the front.

“No idea,” he answered as an alarm came blazing throughout Haven, Peacekeepers starting to run around the perimeter. Was it gunshots he was hearing? “But I can only guess.”

He peeked from behind the panels and looked towards the entrance, not noticing anything out of the ordinary at the first glance. It didn’t take long however to see that there was some kind of commotion around them. Hearing gunshots again he realized that they had to act fast and that they definitely couldn’t have stayed where they were hiding.

“We have to get you both inside,” he said after a while, looking at Anna and Theo. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we can’t stay here.”

“I can’t reach Rhodes,” there was panic in Anna’s voice as she was trying to open a communication channel. “He’s not picking up!”

“We’ll deal with that later,” Dragov pulled up his hood to shield himself from the wind. “Now follow me and stay close.”

Anna and Theo nodded and did as they were told, running back inside together with Dragov. As soon as they were back in the building he reached into a nearby crate and pulled out a shotgun, making sure to stuff his pockets with two boxes of additional ammo rounds.

“We have to get to the basement,” this time it was Theo, his voice tired but crisp. “There’s nothing we can help with from here. Besides, we can fortify ourselves there. At least for a while.”

Anna nodded and they both started running again, Dragov in front of them with a shotgun ready to fire. It wasn’t hard to deduce what just happened. They were attacked as soon as they started tampering with the Black Tusk technology. And if his worst fears were to come true, it was entirely his fault.

Running down the stairs Anna slipped on something but Theo grabbed her sleeve and pulled her towards himself and into the basement, Dragov securing their backs. Luckily enough, Paul Rhodes and Alani Kelso were there, standing right next to the door.

“It’s fucking Black Tusk,” Rhodes shouted as soon as he saw them approach. “For fuck’s sake. How the hell did that happen? All our security systems are offline, goddamnit!”

Dragov sighed and approached Rhodes, the shotgun still in his hands.

“It was my fault,” he said, once again deciding not to dance around the subject. “I brought some Black Tusk parts to Haven. I didn’t know what consequences it could have. I wanted to…”

Rhodes didn’t let him finish.

“You didn’t… for fuck’s sake,” he was almost screaming, Kelso surprised with the volume of his voice, but he calmed himself soon after. “Alright. Enough. We’ll talk about it later. Now we need to make sure that those fuckers don’t end up killing all of us. Which means we have to activate all security protocols, including sealing off this damn basement. Kelso, can you take Dragov with you and see if the Peacekeepers need any help? I’ll stay here with Anna and Theo.”

“Sure thing,” Kelso placed a box she was holding on one of the counters, gesturing towards Dragov. “Come on. They’re going to need our help.”

“If I may, before you go,” everybody turned towards Anna where she was standing by one of the tables, holding Theo’s hands and dabbing his fingers with gauze to clean the cuts. “I don’t think they were planning to attack us today.”

“What do you mean?” Kelso asked, moving a little closer to the table.

“They were probably planning a much bigger assault,” Anna’s focus was solely on Theo’s fingers, but she was talking to all of them. “But they noticed that their chipsets were going offline. So they probably figured it was now or never. We went outside to work on the security systems what, two hours ago? And we also turned off all communication between ANNA and some of the skills. So they decided to go with whatever they had.”

Rhodes nodded.

“If that’s really the case, we could use this to our advantage,” he moved behind one of the screens and started typing furiously. “Alright, we’ll try to deal with this from here. Both of you, go outside. And take drones and Fireflies with you. We need to have eyes out there and we can’t really count on the security systems anymore.”

“On it,” Dragov was fast to reach for the skills and so was Kelso, attaching both to a backpack she snatched from another counter. “Talk to us if you need anything.”

“You and I,” Rhodes sent Dragov a stern look from behind the screen, raising his eyebrows as well. “We’re going to have to talk.”

“We will,” he answered, checking his shotgun again, “As soon as this is all over.”

With that, he and Kelso left the basement and Rhodes pressed a sequence of buttons that sealed it off using an old fire protection system and its gates.

***

Joaquin and Blaze were standing on top of one of the fortifications, a wall made of car doors and metal crates serving as cover from enemy fire. As soon as Joaquin ran outside to join Blaze behind the cover he used the Pulse to determine how many enemies were approaching.

“Damn,” he said after a while, making sure to keep his head low. “There’s at least ten Warhounds here. Several tanks and snipers. And they keep coming.”

“Let them come then,” Blaze answered, readying his M700 and taking a second to aim before he took a shot, effectively downing an adversary that was just about to run through the gate. “You think we can get any help with those Warhounds?”

“We should,” Theo’s voice came through the channel, as well as the sound of furious typing on a keyboard. “I’m trying to use what we have to hack one of them. We know they’re controlled remotely, so this shouldn’t be a problem. Can you buy me some time?”

“Sure,” Joaquin answered and jumped down to hide behind a corner. “Would be great if you sent someone with a Jammer here. Slowing the Warhounds down would really help.”

“Looks like Christmas came early for you this year, Joaquin,” he heard Marta’s voice and noticed her exit the building on the other side, making her way towards the gate. “I was about to do just that.”

As soon as the charge from Marta’s Jammer Pulse immobilized the Warhounds, Blaze made sure to go for their weak spots. Joaquin was pushing forward to engage with all mercenaries scattered around the perimeter.

“Hold your horses, Serrano,” he wasn’t surprised to hear Dragov behind him, but hearing his voice did make him feel a little less on edge. “Let’s go together.”

“Alright then,” Joaquin answered, ready to move. “Cover me.”

As they made their way forward Dragov was fast to down their enemies with his shotgun, reloading it with speed Joaquin has never seen before. Unfortunately, Black Tusk reinforcements were on their way and they had to get ready before the next wave hit them.

“What the fuck to they want from us?” Joaquin asked, more to himself than anyone really, reloading his rifle and making sure that he had enough ammo.

“That’s actually pretty simple,” Dragov was sitting on the ground now, trying to maneuver a shield in a way that would help him secure his position. “We’re getting stronger. We’re getting things done. We’re rebuilding. They don’t want stability, they want chaos. So they decide to hit us where it would hurt most.”

Joaquin sighed and nodded, both because he agreed and because he was ready to keep going. Dragov stood up as well and positioned himself in front of Joaquin to make sure that his shield could protect the man too.

Luckily they managed to find a safe and secure position behind one of the walls that proved to be a great advantage as soon as some of the approaching Black Tusk decided to go through that entrance. There was a Warhound approaching too and it launched a grenade in their direction, but Joaquin managed to kick it away before it exploded. Blaze was apparently free at the moment because he was also helping them with some covering fire, forcing the Warhound to retreat by effectively going for its weak points.

“I don’t know where the other Warhounds are,” Joaquin heard Blaze through the comms a moment after. “Can’t see them nearby. I’m afraid they might have gone to entrance B. Do we have someone there?”

“I’m here,” this time it was Barkworth speaking. “With Wilkins. We’re outnumbered though and a few Peacekeepers are down. Besides, my knee is still fucked so there’s not much I can do. Can you spare some support?”

“On it,” Dragov was fast to respond and not only did he secure the shotgun on his back, he also took an SMG from one of the Black Tusk operatives he just killed. “I’ll be with you in a second.”

“Much appreciated. We’re taking heavy fire here.”

Dragov stretched his arms and turned around, nodding towards Joaquin who was still behind cover. As soon as he gave Dragov a thumbs up, the man decided to run for it.

Who would have thought. He still had it in him.

Despite the circumstances, it did make him feel a little proud.

***

Paul Rhodes couldn’t remember the last time he was caught up in action. Frankly, he was hoping it would never happen again. And yet here he was, sealed off in the basement, caught between Anna and Theo running from one station to another, trying to assess the situation by tapping into the surveillance drones that the Black Tusk haven’t yet managed to take control over or shoot down. He should be more controlled, should have been calmer. They set up the entire safety protocol a while ago, going through it endlessly with Anna to make sure that they were prepared for a situation like this. Being prepared however didn’t always amount to being ready to actually face the threat when it happened. He was stressed, hell, he was _terrified_ . Mostly because his people, the people of Haven needed to be safe. Fuck, there were civillians here, there were _kids_ here. As soon as he heard about the first casualties among the Peacekeepers his resolve got thrown out the window though. He was their leader, goddamnit. He should have been more useful, probably should have been there on the frontlines with them. They agreed long ago that if anything like that happened, if they ever got attacked, he would be the one to work in the background, together with Anna and Theo. And yet it felt unfair. He felt he should have been doing more. Even though deep down he knew that it was the only logical decision. Hell, he _agreed_ to it. Agreeing to something however was always entirely different than actually _doing_ the right thing.

“I need twenty more seconds,” Theo was on the comms with the assault team outside and Rhodes couldn't believe how calm and collected the kid was under such circumstances. “As soon as I take control over one of them, we should be able to hack the rest too.”

“Don’t worry,” this time it was Joaquin speaking. “We’ll buy you as much time as you need. We’re already done with two waves of the assault. We’re going to have some cleaning up to do, but other than that we should be fine. Oh, and we’re going to have to rebuild a few walls and fences. Those fuckers are using some modified grenades and they are a bitch when they explode.”

Rhodes suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to notice Anna standing right behind him, a worried expression on her face.

“You okay?” she asked, a tablet in her hand, her hair pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head so as to not get in the way.

“No,” he answered with a snark, only then realizing that he wasn’t supposed to be taking his frustration out on her. “No I’m not. We’re under attack. Our people are dying. And there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“That’s not true,” Anna took her hand away from the man’s shoulder and went for the tablet again, tossing it over to Theo who used it to copy some of the code that she quickly edited. Judging by the commands it was meant for the outside turrets to act as transmitters for additional signals Theo needed to hack the Warhounds. “We’re doing important work here, Rhodes, and you know it. We all have capabilities that could help here more than anywhere else.”

He nodded. She was right. He still felt like shit though.

“Probably,” he said after a while, going back to the surveillance drones. “But we already have some casualties. Five people, to be precise. They didn’t have to die.”

“Let’s make sure nobody else dies then,” she said and moved quickly to stand next to Theo, looking over his shoulder. “They might have surprised us, but we still have the upper hand here. We’re going to be fine, Rhodes. Our emergency plans are good, they’re consistent. We’re going to be _fine_.”

He nodded again, understanding what she was trying to say but still feeling conflicted about it.

“I’m in,” Theo’s excited exclamation made him turn towards him and stopped his train of thought. “Thanks, Joaquin. It’s going to be much easier now.”

Rhodes brought his attention to the surveillance drones only to notice how one of the Warhounds turned around and started attacking the others, going at them relentlessly with an onslaught of firepower and grenades. Another Warhound joined him soon after and as soon as the team caught wind of what was going on, Kelso was the first to rush forward and make her way through another wave of enemies. He almost forgot how amazing of an agent she was.

“I told you twenty seconds would be more than enough,” Anna patted Theo on the back as he gave her a playful snort in return.

“I’ll have you know I’m still exhausted and I still need to sleep,” Theo answered with a chuckle, nudging her hip with his elbow. “If it wasn’t for that, ten would have been enough.”

“You wouldn’t be exhausted if you took a nap when I told you to,” she bickered back at him, positioning herself at the next laptop to help with the other Warhounds. “But I get it. You’re the smart one here. Don’t need to listen to me. I mean, what do I know?”

“Hey, you’re not a role model here. I saw you overworking yourself last week and yawning throughout the entire Saturday. I counted seven yawns at lunch and twenty at dinner. You have no right to judge me.”

“Point taken,” Anna sighed with resignation and honestly, the ease with which they communicated with each other while doing their work actually made Rhodes calm down a bit. “But I don’t remember myself complaining. _You_ complain _all the time_.”

“Guys,” Dragov was suddenly on the comms again, a smug tone to his voice. “Can you at least close the communication channel before you engage in a lover’s quarrel?”

Anna and Theo looked at each other then, a little embarrassed. The entire situation actually made Rhodes snort too. Anna turned around to send him a stern look and it made him even more amused.

“Do your job, Dragov,” Anna finally said, Theo blushing and turning back to the laptop to hide his face from Rhodes. “Last time I checked you had a few Black Tusks closing in on you.”

“Don’t you worry about me, cupcake,” he answered and they could all hear the sound of a cocking shotgun. “I’ll be just fine.”

Rhodes brought his attention back to the surveillance drones and he could actually see Dragov positioned close to Barkworth and Wilkins, protecting himself with a shield and advancing forward, shooting one enemy after another. It was a little strange to see how effective he was, especially considering the fact that he was in a very bad state not so long ago. He still had to talk to the man though. Just thinking about the parts that Dragov delivered was making him feel all weak in the knees. Especially since it was probably the parts that brought about what just happened.

“Fifth Warhound is ours, ladies and gentlemen,” Theo said enthusiastically, looking intently at the screen in front of him. “Make sure you stay in your positions. I’m going to move those and self-destruct them in a minute.”

“Acknowledged,” the team answered almost in unison, sitting behind safe covers. “We should be good to go.”

Theo nodded and moved the Warhounds exactly the way he said, targeting the remaining forces of the Black Tusk in the process. As soon as they were in position, he launched the self-destruct sequence.

“Fifteen seconds to go,” Anna chimed in, looking at the screen in front of Theo. “And… done!”

They all looked at the surveillance screens to see the Warhounds exploding one after another, downing some of the Black Tusk mercenaries in the process. Only a few were scattered here and there now, Kelso, Meyer and Serrano walking around and finishing them off. It looked like the situation was under control now, even though unfortunately it still brought about a few serious losses.

“Area is clear here,” Dragov spoke on the comms again, “You can come back to the turrets. We’ll keep watch while you work.”

“Thanks,” Anna answered and immediately started going through the boxes they had already prepared, getting ready to go outside again. “We’ll be there in a second. Rhodes, make sure we have someone to work on the walls as well.”

Rhodes nodded and made sure to go through the surveillance drones once again, making sure they were indeed safe and trying to figure out how much of it all they actually needed to fix. It was hard to believe that the assault was over now, so they had to make sure that they were still prepared in case any other assailants wanted to try something. He was hoping they wouldn’t be that stupid though.

“Alright then,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I’ll send a few people to assess the damage. Joaquin, try to see if you can help the wounded. Dragov, in my office. Two minutes.”

Anna and Theo exchanged a knowing look, but decided not to comment. Rhodes nodded towards them and left, already feeling anxiety rising somewhere around his stomach.

They might have been able to fend the attackers off this time, but next time they didn’t have to be so lucky.

He needed to set a few things straight.

***

Dragov didn’t know what to expect when Rhodes called him into his office, but he could have guessed it wouldn’t have been anything pleasant. He was ready to accept all the blame though. He fucked up and he fucked up big time. The situation could have easily been avoided if he did what Dogman told him to, if he consulted with the man the way he was supposed to. This was on him. The deaths of Rhodes’ people were on him. Luckily they didn’t have too many casualties on their side, but it was still casualties that would have never happened if he did what he was supposed to do.

He liked to think of himself as a team player, especially now. Unfortunately it seemed like some habits die hard and his old ways managed to fuck things up again. This wasn’t the first time, but he was surely hoping it would have been the last.

He knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an invitation, wanting to get this conversation over with as soon as possible.

Rhodes was sitting behind his desk and he didn’t say anything when the man entered, only pointed towards the chair in front of him. Dragov swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat and did as instructed, taking a seat directly in front of Rhodes.

“Explain,” was all the man said and his voice was tired, restless, resigned. Dragov hated this tone of voice with a burning passion.

He was instantly reminded of his time in the force, of all the times he was called in by his superiors to explain some questionable decisions he made in the streets. And there were many, especially since he was usually on the frontlines of riot control. People he decided to bring in, people he decided to let go. He did remember some protests he was told to pacify but couldn’t, especially if the cause was something he personally agreed with. It’s not your job to judge, he heard more than once. You’re supposed to do what you’re told. He took his fair share of scolding, his fair share of reprimands. Only because he always sided with the oppressed.

“I wanted to strike a deal with the Black Tusk,” he said, trying to measure his words carefully. “To test the waters with them. To see if they could eventually protect my family where you couldn’t.”

Those words changed something in Rhodes’ expression, restlessness turning to anger, anger turning into controlled irritation. Dragov wasn’t going to dance around the subject though. If Rhodes was to understand why he did what he did, he needed to know the details.

“By endangering my people in the process?” he said, his voice very calm, possibly too calm in the face of what was at stake here.

Dragov took a deep breath and continued.

“You brought SHD here,” he said, trying to keep eye contact with the man. “To help them with the Hunters. Endangering us all with this decision. SHD can’t and won’t protect us. They’re in a spot now where _they_ need protection. I had no idea the Black Tusk could possibly be connected with the Hunters. Hell, we had some intel telling us they weren’t. And even though I don’t trust the Black Tusk, it’s true that nobody has the resources they have. So I wanted to strike a few deals with them, see how it goes. And maybe negotiate more afterwards.”

Rhodes nodded, but it wasn’t an appreciative nod. More dismissive, disappointed.

“So you brought them straight to us,” the man said after a while, accentuating every word carefully. “You basically gave them a skeleton key to all of our security systems.”

Dragov sighed. That was on him, there was no denying that.

“I had no idea it could work this way,” he admitted, still keeping eye contact. “I thought that it didn’t matter since we disassembled all parts they delivered anyway. I didn’t know they could tap into anything remotely. I made a stupid mistake.”

“A stupid mistake that cost us the lives of five people,” Rhodes was obviously getting more angry, raising his voice with every word he said. “For fuck’s sake, Dragov. This was supposed to be a partnership. We were supposed to cooperate. Isn’t this what Nova was supposed to be about? Us and the Rikers working together, trying to build a safe place for the civilians, helping the settlements, helping the people who suffered most because of the shitstorm that hit the US? This isn’t that. This is you making decisions as if you were the leader here. Let me break the news for you. You’re not. We decided long ago that we have different areas of expertise, that we will complement each other. And yet here you are, going behind my back with this… this _deal_ that you were trying to strike with our enemies. With the Black Tusk of all people. The fuckers who managed to bring Lau on their side, the fuckers who do everything Schaeffer tells them to do, the fuckers who are probably behind the Hunters in a way because, lo and behold, they use the same jamming frequencies. Were you really thinking that they were going to help you? Haven’t you already had enough with Keener?”

Dragov didn’t know what to answer. Rhodes was right, every single word he said was correct. But he already admitted that.

“I know you care about your people more than anything else,” he said, shifting in the chair uncomfortably. “But I also care about mine. And yours as well, for that matter. They are my friends. I would have never done what I did if I knew what consequences this could have, Rhodes. And I know you know that.”

Rhodes nodded and sighed, obviously trying to contain his anger. He didn’t want to fight. He wanted to understand and Dragov had to admit he appreciated that.

“We can’t go on like this,” he said after a while, tearing his gaze away from Dragov and suddenly finding something behind his back really interesting. “This arrangement isn’t going to work if you keep going behind my back. I would have kicked you out of Haven if I didn’t see you fighting for it myself. I know you’re not happy with SHD being here. Neither am I. But you know that the Hunters would have targeted us too sooner or later. Bringing SHD here might have sped up the process, yes. But we’re not safe, Dragov. We never were. We’re thriving and there are forces that want to exploit that. Black Tusk is at the top of this list. I thought you were smarter than this. I was really hoping that I wouldn’t have to treat you like a fucking _child_.”

How was he supposed to answer that? He didn’t like being treated like a child either. But he couldn’t deny that he definitely acted like one.

“Listen,” Dragov said after a while, running a hand through his hair. “I know it was a stupid thing to do. I know I endangered us and that’s on me. But you know where this came from. I panicked, okay? I panicked because I want to keep my family safe. Just as you want to keep yours. It’s never going to happen again and we’ll cut off all ties with the Black Tusk.”

“About that…” Rhodes sighed and leaned forward, placing his hands on the table and locking his hands together. “If they’re really behind the Hunters too… and they might be… we will probably have to hit them first to deal with those bastards. We know they’re setting up base here in New York. If our assumptions are correct, we’re going to have to go for them first. I need to know if you’re up for the task.”

Dragov nodded. Of course he was.

“I am,” he answered, resolve strong in his voice. “Fuck, I’ll personally lead the assault if you want me to. I may not be fully healed, but I still pack a hell of a punch. Give me a good team and I’ll make sure those bastards run away from New York and never come back. I owe this to you and I owe this to the people of Haven.”

Rhodes nodded but didn’t say anything for a while, looking at Dragov in silence. It was a little unnerving, but the man didn’t flinch. He was going to do everything in his power to make sure that those people were safe. And that he made up for his mistakes.

Even if it meant going back to the frontlines.

“Alright,” Rhodes said, resignation still audible in his voice, but luckily the anger was gone now. “I’ll keep that in mind. We’ll need our best if we decide to go for the Black Tusk. Make sure you’re ready. And please, _please_ consult all your crazy ideas with me. Or at least with Dogman. This time we might have been ready, well, _mostly_ ready because they truly might have been forced to attack earlier than anticipated, but the next time could be the end for us. I’m sure none of us would want that.”

“You’re right,” Dragov nodded. “We wouldn’t.”

“Good. Now go help the people outside. We need to rebuild as soon as possible. I know it’s way past midnight now, but we don’t have time to waste. I’ll be there in a minute too.”

“Sure thing.”

Dragov stood up and just as he was about to leave, Rhodes spoke once more.

“And Dragov,” he said, stopping the man in his tracks. “Just so you know. I’ll be watching you. I hope it never comes to this, but if I’m forced to choose between your people and mine, I’m pretty sure you know what I’m going to pick.”

Dragov nodded and left, closing the door behind himself.

Of all the things Rhodes said, the last few sentences probably hurt the most. Especially since for a while now this distinction was gone, there were no _us_ and _you_ , there was just Nova.

He was really hoping that his actions didn’t damage the alliance permanently.


	8. Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm exactly where I want to be, but I'm a long way from home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. As you can see, this chapter is much longer than any other in the series and honestly, I have no idea how that happened. I still hope you're going to like it though!  
> One thing to point out, the Agents are playing Among Us in this chapter. As the game itself came out in 2018 and The Division 2 takes place in 2017, I made one of the characters design and write a similar game that they could play. It just seemed very fitting to have them play it with fellow rogue agents :)
> 
> The title comes from Low Roar's song "Bones" and the lyrics are also important for the tone of this chapter.

Blaze was once again feeling restless and just a little on edge. It has been two days since Haven has been attacked and word travels fast when people are scared or disappointed. This time it was both and honestly, he wasn’t surprised that it was Dragov’s actions that ultimately brought the threat straight to them. They were lucky that the Black Tusk decided to attack when they did, when they weren’t fully ready to commit to this assault. Otherwise, they might have lost much more than just five people and a few fortifications.

It was one of the reasons Blaze was so angry. He hated sitting around, waiting for a call to action that would finally allow him and other Division agents to leave Haven because the operatives found something that might point them towards the Hunters. He wanted to do more, to actually help the community that they were supposed to be helping all along. So he was planning to have a talk with Kelso and see if she could reason with Rhodes somehow. Just so that he might join a few Peacekeepers from time to time, answer some distress calls, leave Haven to do something that could actually benefit all of them. Rhodes was very strict when it came to forcing them to follow the rules, but the recent events have changed a lot of things. They needed good recon and they needed to make sure that all settlements were safe, not just Haven. And since he was already here, he might as well put his abilities to good use.

“Come in,” Kelso said as soon as he knocked on her door and Blaze slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. Alani was sitting behind a desk, working on a laptop and making some notes on a piece of paper. “Oh, Meyer. You need something?”

“Actually, yeah,” his answer came fast, resulting in a surprised look on Kelso’s face. “You have a moment to talk?”

“Sure,” she said as she closed the laptop and pushed the piece of paper away, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Everything okay?”

Blaze approached her desk and stood in front of it, holding eye contact with Kelso to make sure that she understood how serious this was for him. She blinked fast, but didn’t turn away.

“I’m sick of sitting around, Kelso,” he said, trying to watch his tone. “We’re under constant supervision here and we can’t leave except for the missions related to the Hunters. It doesn’t make sense. It’s my obligation to help and I feel like I’m just wasting my time here.”

Kelso sighed and swung on the chair a little, pushing it back and forth.

“What is it that you want me to do, Meyer?” she said after a while, looking at him carefully. “I can’t send you back to DC. Not when we finally have more information about what’s going on here.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Blaze sighed as well, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’m just… I’m going crazy here. Can’t you talk to Rhodes and ask him to let me help more? I don’t know, with some patrols or distress calls? I’m sure the Peacekeepers could use some support.”

“I could,” Kelso answered, a small smile forming on her lips. “But supervision is not the only reason why Rhodes wants to keep you in Haven. It’s dangerous out there, Meyer. More dangerous than the last time we were here. We have no idea when the Hunters could appear again or when they could target us.”

“I know. But they already know we’re here. And if the Hunters are connected to the Black Tusk in any way and they’re targeting Nova too, it doesn’t really matter. Besides, having an agent on the team could greatly increase the safety of Peacekeeper patrols. Can you _please_ talk to Rhodes and ask him about it?”

Kelso sighed again, stretching her arms above her head. She looked tired and just a little on edge. Still, Blaze knew her well enough to know that any comment relating to any of those observations would immediately make her angry, so he decided to keep quiet for now.

“I can try,” she said after a while, looking at him again. “But I can’t make any promises. Rhodes is the boss here and we’re just his guests. But if he says he’s fine with it, I’m fine with it too.”

“Thank you,” Blaze replied, visibly relaxing his shoulders. “It means a lot to me.”

“I know,” she said, and rolled her eyes, but a small smile formed on her lips as well. “Now go. I have work to do.”

“Sure thing,” Blaze smiled a little and turned around to leave the room. “Want me to close the door so that nobody else bothers you?”

Kelso smiled in response and came back to her notes, opening the laptop once again.

“Please do,” she said, adjusting the chair a little. “I really don’t have the strength to talk to anyone else today.”

Blaze nodded and left, closing the door behind himself.

He was really hoping that Kelso would be able to change Rhodes’ mind about the situation.

***

“Excuse me… you’re inviting us to _what_?”

Anna and Theo were looking at Joaquin in disbelief, surprised with what they just heard.

“A _party_ ,” Joaquin repeated, focusing on the second word. “You know, a gathering of people who want to have fun together?"

Anna raised her eyebrows in suspicion but Theo actually giggled; probably because of the look on her face.

“Are you sure that it’s the right moment to be having a _party_?” She asked, sending Theo a scolding glare that made him laugh even harder. “I mean, we just finished rebuilding the walls and recalibrating the turrets. We barely made it out alive and…”

“Exactly,” Joaquin interrupted her, pointing a finger at her. “That’s precisely the reason why the residents want to have a party. To celebrate, you know. The way people do when they overcome hardships. We made it out _alive,_ Anna. People need a reminder of that. They need to unwind, spend some time together. Enjoy the fact that they’re still here.”

Anna nodded, obviously thinking about what he just said.

“I guess you’re right… sorry,” she said after a while, a soft smile appearing on her face. “It’s just been so long since I went to an actual party.”

“We went to one in Dragov’s Wall Street hideout,” Theo chimed in. “Remember? Right after we met. Although I don’t remember a lot from that night.”

“Lucky you,” Anna sighed, but her mood was obviously better now. “I didn’t drink because of the meds I was on back then. I didn’t want to see what I saw that night.”

Joaquin snorted a little and Anna smiled as well, so he decided to take it as a good sign.

“We all need to let off some steam,” he said after a while. “I mean, we’ve been through so much shit. I can’t blame the people here for wanting to unwind. So we’re starting at eight and it’s all going to take place in the main hall. Make sure you come by, even if it’s just for a moment.”

“Sure, we’ll be there,” Theo answered in Anna’s stead, but she nodded at his words. “We’re almost done with work for today anyway.”

“Great,” Joaquin smiled at the man and almost turned around to leave. “See you at eight then.”

He was planning to make a few more rounds to make sure everybody knew about the party, but he needed some coffee first. It was a little cold in Haven so he zipped up his hoodie and took the stairs leading to the canteen. He was surprised to see Paul Rhodes standing next to the coffee machine, waiting for his mug to get filled.

“Hey there,” Joaquin decided to go for a warm welcome. “Feeling okay, Rhodes?”

“What kind of a stupid question is that,” the man turned around and sent Joaquin an angry glare that made the man stop in his tracks. “No. I’m not feeling okay. Serrano, we barely made it out alive. We just finished all necessary repairs. Some of us haven’t gotten any sleep in the last what, three, four days? And the civilians want to have a fucking _party_. Can you believe it?”

Okay. Maybe a warm welcome was a little stretch.

“Actually,” Joaquin decided to use the fact that Rhodes’ coffee was done and placed his own mug under the dispenser. “I can. Those people have been on edge for the last few weeks. Maybe months. I can’t blame them for feeling a little victorious.”

“How is this a victory,” Rhodes shook his head and took a sip of hot coffee. “We lost five people and a lot of time and resources. We’re still not fully back on track. What is there to celebrate?”

Seriously, Joaquin had to make sure Anna spends less time with Rhodes and adopts a different view of things.

“Think of it this way,” Joaquin’s coffee was ready and he took a sip as well. “They are alive. They got through this. We have been attacked by the fucking Black Tusk and we’re still standing. I know we’re not even close to being out of the woods yet, but people want to feel normal. They want to feel happy.”

“I know they do,” Rhodes sighed and took another sip of his coffee. “That’s why I agreed. But I still don’t feel safer. If anything, I actually feel worse.”

Joaquin nodded. He wasn’t surprised. Frankly, he didn’t expect anything else.

“Just come by the main hall around eight,” he said after a while, trying to sound sympathetic. ”Maybe seeing your people having fun will cheer you up a little.”

Rhodes sighed and took another sip of his coffee. Joaquin noticed a smirk appear on his face. It was barely visible, barely there, but it was a smirk nonetheless.

“You know,” Rhodes said after a while, adjusting his baseball cap, “I really fucking hope it does.”

***

It was already getting dark when Marta decided to find Blaze. All lights in Haven have already been switched on, including some leftover Christmas light chains that the civilians have used to decorate the main hall. People were already gathering here and there, sitting on top of crates and containers, drinking and enjoying themselves with some lively music in the background. She knew that Dragov went out of his way to bring a few crates of vodka to Haven and honestly, she was glad. She hasn’t been able to get a drink in such a long time she barely remembered what alcohol tastes like. Still, time to drink will come later. She needed to find Blaze first.

In all honesty, she was worried about the man. He wasn’t able to settle in as easily as Barkworth and Wilkins. The two blended in immediately, even made some friends among the Peacekeepers. Blaze however was an entirely different story. It was hard to get to him, hard to get to know him. And yet she knew he was a nice man deep underneath the brash exterior. Not to mention that this years’ events were an influence on him too and he was definitely more approachable than say, a year ago. She really wanted him to go to the party, to maybe open up a little to the others too.

She finally managed to find him upstairs, next to the infirmary, sitting in an old conference room and fumbling with a phone. Only when she came closer did she realize that there were actually several phones on the table next to him.

“Hey Blaze,” she said, entering the room. “Ready to hit the party?”

He lifted his gaze from the phone and looked at her, a delicate smile visible on his lips.

“Just about ready,” he said after a while, reaching for another phone. “I’m almost done.”

“What are you doing?” Marta asked, genuinely interested. He handed her one of the phones and she almost squealed with excitement.

“I wrote a simple game,” he said after a while, looking at the phone again. “Based on a party game I knew way before. You know, where one of the participants is undermining the entire group and the group has to decide who it is?”

“Oh yeah, I remember that,” Marta sat down next to Blaze, careful as to not crush any of the phones. “Although when I played it, it was mostly analog. You know, with pens and papers.”

“Not anymore,” Blaze smiled again and honestly, it was a little weird to see him smile. “I set up a server for the phones to connect to so that people can play together. We can have a maximum of ten users at once. I assumed… it could be a fun addition to the party. And maybe afterwards too.”

Marta looked at the phone again and smiled involuntarily. The game looked simple yet very straightforward. She was sure people were going to be ecstatic when they hear that they have something to take their mind off things. Movies and books were fun, sure. But games were always an entirely different story.

“Hey,” Marta said after a while, winking at Blaze. “I didn’t know you were that smart.”

“I’m not smart,” wait, was Blaze blushing? “I just… had a lot of time on my hands. So I figured I might do something fun for the community. Something I know how to do. Although I am a little rusty, you know. Being an agent doesn’t really leave a lot of free time for hobbies.”

“Tell me about it,” Marta sighed and handed the phone back to Blaze. “I haven’t had a moment for myself ever since I joined SHD. Maybe we should have parties more often. Just to remind ourselves what it’s like to be human.”

“Maybe we should,” Blaze nodded and kept setting something up on one of the phones, looking at the other ones from time to time. “I mean, I enjoy this. Helping people, doing my job. But we never really get any… gratification, if you know what I mean. And I’m not talking about anything materialistic, I just… I would like to see people enjoying themselves. There’s not a lot of space for that nowadays, but I think it’s important.”

“So do I,” Marta nudged Blaze’s arm with her fist. “That’s why I have a surprise for today’s party.”

“Surprise?”

“Yes. But I’m not going to tell you.”

“Alright, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Ugh. Okay, I’ll tell you. I need to tell someone.”

Blaze chuckled as Marta reached into her backpack and pulled out something that looked like a shoe box. She opened it slowly and took out a small, yellow camera.

“Is that an Instax?” Blaze frowned as he tried to take in the funny shape and the pastel yellow case. Marta laughed and lifted the camera closer to his face.

“Yes,” she said, obviously proud of herself. “And I have about thirty boxes of film. I plan to use almost all of it today. And maybe set the pictures up somewhere in Haven for people to look at when they’re feeling down.”

Blaze smiled again. It was actually soothing to see him smile.

“Where did you get this?” he asked, raising his eyebrows in a questioning gesture.

“Found it during one of our most recent supply runs,” Marta carefully packed the camera back into her backpack. “I mean, I was a little reluctant about just _taking_ it from the storeroom. I guess old habits die hard. But then again, nobody was going to use it anyway. I guess that’s the scariest part of it all. And we could use it here to document some good times. I guess it could be a nice reminder of why we’re really doing all of this.”

Blaze sighed and put the phone away. Marta could see that he was tired and a little stressed, although the smile was a nice addition to his usually reserved demeanor.

“I guess it’s easy to forget,” he said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Because life is not what it used to be anymore. We don’t have homes to go back to, no jobs to distract us from all the shit happening in the world. I mean, we’ll never go back to the way it used to be… but I guess we can still find ways to enjoy ourselves from time to time.”

Marta nudged his side again and smiled, earning another blush in return. It gave her a strange feeling of satisfaction to be able to elicit such a reaction from him.

“Since we’re talking about enjoying ourselves,” she said, looking him in the eyes. “I guess we should get to that party. It started like half an hour ago.”

“Good idea,” Blaze stood up and gathered all the phones, placing them in a small bag. “I think we should give this game a try. And I really need a drink.”

Marta placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and followed him downstairs. The situation might have been fucked up, yes. They might have just survived an attack, barely made it out alive. But somehow she felt like everything was settling in nicely, like everything was getting back on track.

It was a nice feeling she almost forgot she knew.

***

Dragov was carrying the last of the crates of vodka he asked Dogman to bring to Haven and as soon as he placed it in the main hall he used an empty table to build a makeshift bar. There weren't that many different alcohol brands to choose from, but it would have to do. It was still a lot more than he thought he would be able to find. Especially since they also had some sodas and fizzy drinks ready to possibly mix with the alcohol.

“Do you even know how to fix drinks?” Dogman approached from the left, leaning against a wall, hands hidden in the front pocket of his hoodie.

“Probably better than you,” Dragov sent him a smile and reached for a tall glass. “So, what can I get you?”

“Anything that’s going to give me a good night’s sleep.”

“I don’t think alcohol is the right option for you then,” Dragov raised his eyebrows in a mocking gesture but reached for a bottle of vodka nonetheless. “Still. It’s good to see you here.”

“Likewise. I haven’t been here in a while. I’m surprised Rhodes okayed this though. Especially after what happened.”

Dragov sighed and slid the glass towards Dogman. The man lifted it up and eyed it carefully.

“It’s not poison,” Dragov added after a while. “Just some vodka mixed with orange juice. You’ll be fine.”

“Thanks,” Dogman sent him a taunting smile and took a sip of his drink. “Anyway. I’m glad you settled things with Rhodes.”

“I’m not sure I did,” Dragov reached for another glass and poured himself a generous amount of vodka. “But I hope he’s going to find it in him to see past this. There’s too much at stake here to keep fighting over my stupid decisions. We have to stick together if we want a real chance at rebuilding any semblance of normal life here.”

“I think he knows your head is ultimately in the right place,” Dogman took another sip of his drink and wheezed a little. “Fuck, this shit is strong. Anyway. I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean any of that to happen.”

“Let’s hope so,” Dragov sighed and downed the rest of his drink. “But enough talking for now. Can’t you, I don’t know, relax and enjoy yourself somehow?”

“I plan to do just that,” Dogman smiled again and placed his empty glass back on the table. “As soon as you fix me another drink. Oh, Anna! Long time no see!”

Dragov turned his head a little to see Anna walking towards them, leaving behind a group of people sitting on the floor nearby. Peacekeepers were playing some dance music in the back so it was impossible to hear what they were talking about, but the discussion seemed to be very heated. He was surprised to see Meyer among the group, as well as two of the Rikers that usually accompanied him in Haven, Peter and Alice - good kids, a little hot-headed, but always fun to be around.

“Hey man,” Anna smiled at Dogman and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a friendly hug, pulling away after a moment. “Didn’t know you would be here. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” the man smiled back and patted Anna’s shoulder. “How are things? Everything okay?”

“For the most part,” Anna rolled her eyes and turned towards Dragov. “So, you’re the bartender tonight?”

“I can be anything you want, cupcake,” Dragov winked at her and laughed at the disgusted expression on her face. “Alright, alright. I’m not, but I’ll get you something. Give me a minute.”

He ducked under the table and reached for a can of soda. It wasn’t just regular soda though - it was an energy drink he knew would go well with vodka, so he mixed the two together and handed the glass to Anna.

“Thanks,” Anna said after a while, taking the glass from Dragov’s hand. “You guys want to join us? We’re playing this weird game Blaze designed and we’re missing two people.”

Dragov and Dogman exchanged surprised looks but since there wasn’t much else to do, Dragov nodded.

“Sure thing,” he said, getting out of the makeshift bar he just put together. “Lead the way.”

Anna smiled at that and led them towards the group sitting nearby, taking a sip of her drink on the way. Dragov knew she didn’t tolerate alcohol too well so he purposefully used a lot more of the energy drink than he normally would have. Hopefully she wasn’t going to notice.

“Wow, that’s pretty good,” she said, turning around to look at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a drink before.”

“No offence, kid, but you don’t seem like the kind of person who had a lot of drinks before in general,” Dragov winked at her and her expression turned into a scowl once again. “But hey. I guess it’s a good thing. You grew up to be a pretty decent human being.”

“So did you,” she nudged his side with her elbow, looking him straight in the eyes. “Hey. I’m sorry I got mad at you before. I was stressed and I probably should have handled this more… maturely.”

Dragov blinked fast, surprise evident on his face. This wasn’t something he was expecting to hear.

“No, cupcake, you had every right to get mad at me,” he placed a hand on her shoulder and brought her in for an awkward hug. “I fucked up. But it’s never going to happen again.”

“I know,” she answered, wrapping an arm around his waist. It was a gesture he didn’t expect but one he accepted with gratitude. It made him feel a little better.

As soon as they approached the group Dragov looked around to notice everyone sitting down, phones in their hands, arguing about something. They were scattered around on the floor or some old seat cushions, crates or pieces of wood so as to not sit directly on cold concrete. Meyer was sitting at the center of the group, Marta on his left and Barkworth on his right. Wilkins was there as well, obviously angry with the phone she was holding, tapping the screen furiously. Peter and Alice were visibly enjoying themselves, mugs filled with vodka in their hands and slight blushes on their faces. Good. They needed to relax as well.

Anna sat down next to Theo and placed a brief kiss on his lips, the man smiling at her and whispering something Dragov couldn’t hear; probably something cute that would have disgusted him anyway. He and Dogman took seats right next to them, taking two phones that Anna handed them and noticing that the game had already been launched.

“Okay,” Meyer started speaking, his eyes darting nervously towards Dragov but settling back on his phone a moment later. “For those of you who haven’t played before, this game is pretty simple. We have ten people here, which is the optimal setup for the game as we can have two of us sabotaging the rest.”  
“Sabotaging? I already love this game,” Dogman whispered to Dragov and the man chuckled at that.

“So yeah. You pick a color for your character and run around the map doing simple things. Cleaning, doing some simple repairs, things like that. Two of us will be randomly selected to be the bad guys who sabotage the work of everyone else and who can kill others. If you find a dead body, you report it. That’s when we put the phones away and discuss who we think it was. Then we eliminate the person with the most votes. The game ends when everyone gets killed, all work gets sabotaged or all bad guys are exposed. Any questions?”

Dragov raised his hand partially because he enjoyed seeing the dread in Meyer’s eyes, partially because he actually wanted to ask a question. Meyer nodded towards him.

“How do we vote?”

“A screen will come up where you can click on the person you vote for. It’s not perfect, but I’m going to work on it some more. Maybe I’ll add a map or two in the meantime too, and…”

“I suggest we just play,” Marta suddenly chimed in, sending Dragov a smile. “It’s the easiest way to understand how this works.”

“Alright, let’s go then!”

It was true that the game was fun. After two rounds he and Theo were selected to sabotage the rest and scored a spectacular victory. A few bottles of vodka were being passed around, followed by some snacks and even a joint that suddenly appeared from God knows where. Still, Dragov wasn’t going to turn away an opportunity to have a good time, especially after all the shit they have been through recently.

“I’m telling you,” Anna was talking and her voice was warm and sticky like honey, much higher than usual and even more excited, “It was the best prank I have ever seen. There were people standing under the showers on the beach and there was this guy who kept pouring shampoo over their heads whenever they were trying to rinse. They had no idea where it came from and they were _so angry_. I’ve never laughed so hard in my entire life.”

“I have a good one too,” this time it was Dogman’s turn and Dragov couldn’t be happier to finally see him relaxed, having fun with the group. “A guy waking up his friend with a slipper to talk to, pretending that it was a phone. The guy actually fell for it and talked to it for, like, a good minute before he realized what was going on.”

“My favorite one,” Theo chimed in, his arm wrapped around Anna’s shoulders as she was leaning onto him, “Was not a prank, but a video of a raccoon that tried to wash candy floss in the river. I cried because I felt sorry for it, but I couldn’t stop laughing at its surprised face. It was so cute and so heartbreaking at the same time.”

“Which reminds me,” Dragov decided to butt in, strangely comfortable in the company of all those people around him, including Meyer, “Of the one YouTube video that always made me laugh, no matter how many times I watched it. There was some research footage of a shrimp on a treadmill and somebody combined it with a music track from Benny Hill. I loved it. It always cheered me up.”

“I know that video!” Anna pointed a finger at Dragov and laughed. “I used to watch it too. I also used it to troll people in some online discussions whenever their arguments were shit.”

“I’m sorry, cupcake,” Dragov couldn’t stop the laugh, “But I’ll never believe that you used to argue with people online, you’re too polite for that.”

“Not when they were saying crap about the most efficient Rolls-Royce jet engine ever created,” the frown that suddenly appeared on Anna’s face was actually kind of cute. “I have zero tolerance for that shit.”

“That’s my girl,” Theo was obviously very drunk by then, clinging to Anna and pressing a kiss to her neck. “We all know that the Trent 900 was a masterpiece.”

“Nobody gets me the way you do,” Anna turned her head a little and placed a sweet kiss on Theo’s lips. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“Bored the shit out of at least 20 people?” Dragov couldn’t stop himself and spoke before he thought it through, but given the state Anna was in she actually laughed at it as well, kicking his leg at the same time.

It was a weird and yet a very good feeling, to be able to have fun like that. It almost made Dragov feel like back in the old days, when all the people surrounding him were friends, not individuals trying to kill him or undermine him. It was also very different from the parties he used to have with the Rikers in the Wall Street hideout - those were mostly about getting drunk and picking some random fights. This, however, was much more... lifelike, much _warmer_. He didn’t know how much he needed it until it actually happened.

“Well, since I have been defeated with such an epic comeback,” Anna stood up suddenly, swaying a little but managing to hold steady, “I’m going to get a drink. You guys want anything?”

“I’ll go with you,” Marta stood up as well, almost kicking Meyer in the meantime. “I’m a little fed up with all the testosterone around here.”

“Perfect,” Anna smiled at Marta and slowly made her way towards the bar. “Let’s go and have a true ladies’ conversation. Skye, you coming?”

“I’m probably going to go to bed,” the girl was obviously tired by then and well, it wasn’t surprising; they have been at it for at least a few hours now. “But thanks for the offer.”

“Suit yourself,” Marta sent Skye a smile and walked towards the bar as well.

Dragov reached behind himself for another bottle of vodka that he had ready, determined to drink as much as his body was going to physically handle.

“So,” he said, opening the bottle and taking a swig, passing it over to Theo who took it from his hands gratefully, “Who’s ready to get this party to another level?”

***

“Can I ask you something?”

Anna and Marta were sitting close to the bar, glasses filled with vodka and juice in their hands, dance music blasting in the background. It almost felt like a regular party. Marta was never too fond of those, but now she couldn’t help but enjoy it.

“Sure thing,” Anna answered, leaning back into the crate she was sitting at. “Ask away.”

“You and Theo. How did you know that you had feelings for him?”

Anna laughed at the question and almost spat her drink out.

“I didn’t,” she answered, still laughing a little, a slight pink blush painting her face. “I mean, now that I think about it I was desperately trying to force myself _not_ to have feelings for him. I kept telling myself that I didn’t have time for that, that I had to focus on what I had to do. But he was… I don’t know. There was something about him that made me feel like I have known him for a long time. It might have had to do with how easy it was to talk to him. And how cute he was. I mean, he’s so cute. I can never get enough of him.”

Marta laughed at Anna’s words as well, taking a sip of her drink. She didn’t know Theo that well but it always made her happy to look at him and Anna together.

“But you got together in the end, right? How did that happen?”

“Well,” Anna sighed and poured herself some more vodka, topping it up with grape soda. “It happened right after you guys almost killed him. No offence.”

“None taken. I’m sorry. We… it was a trying time for all of us.”

“I know. Anyway. He was in pretty bad shape. For a while I was sure that he wasn’t going to make it. He’s definitely never going back into the field with the injuries he sustained. But he’s alive and he’s mostly fine. So after he got better and after I did some work in the Wall Street hideout, I came back here to help Rhodes and the Peacekeepers. And I just… I just kissed him.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah. We talked, we spent some time together, but something wasn’t right. He was different than before I left, a little stranger than usual. And I had this weird feeling, like there was some static in the air between us, like something had to give. And then he started talking and I just… it just came to me. I really wanted to kiss him. So I did.”

Marta laughed into her drink, downing it with one huge sip and pouring herself another.

“And how did he react?”

“Well, I think he was terrified at first because he just froze, but ultimately he kissed me back. And he said that he had been thinking about it for a while. As soon as he said it I realized that I did too. I was just trying really hard to pretend that I didn’t. But still. Why do you want to know?”

A deep sigh escaped Marta’s lips as she busied herself with her drink.

“I don’t know,” she said, sighing once again. “Sometimes I think that I should focus on survival. Civilians need our support, we have to fight to protect ourselves from all the shit happening around us. But other times, I have this feeling that if I were to die tomorrow, I wouldn’t want to be alone. The world as we know it is ending around us and there’s no way to tell where we’re going to end up. I miss this. I miss having someone close.”

Anna nodded at that, taking another long sip of her drink.

“I know what you mean,” she said after a while. “I mean, I expected many things to happen, but I never expected to fall in love. And yet I did. It feels a little weird, but having Theo around is… amazing. Having someone who understands you so close to you is the best thing I could have ever wished for. But hey, it can be overwhelming too. He’s infuriating at times.”

“He is?” Marta opened her eyes wide in shock. It was the last thing she was expecting to hear.

“Oh, yeah. He _always_ has _comments_ about my code. There’s _always_ something he claims he would do better. On one hand, it’s a good thing he knows how to improve it. On the other, he’s so smug about it I always feel my blood boil when he says it. And he snores. Honestly, sometimes I have to kick him in order to make it stop.”

Marta couldn’t stop the chuckle at the mental image. Of course she knew that there were no perfect relationships, but what Anna and Theo had still seemed very close to perfection.

“But he adores you so much,” Marta said after a while. “The way he looks at you? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Oh, come on,” Anna waved her hand at that, but her skin also turned a deeper shade of pink. “Anyway. Are you asking me all this because you have a crush on someone specific?”

Marta suddenly felt cold sweat running down her back.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she sulked, turning around to pour herself some more alcohol.

“I think you do,” this time Anna sent her a smug grin. “But it’s fine. You don’t have to tell me. Just… if you’re sure about this, don’t wait too long. I got lucky.”

Marta nodded and took another sip of her drink, suddenly lost in thought again. The problem was, she was never sure of anything. Ever. She weighed the pros and cons and made her decisions accordingly, based on the most rational outcome. But feelings were something else, something not easily measurable. Uncertain. Fleeting. Maybe she was just feeling lost, maybe the weight of the world was just a little too much.

Maybe she just didn’t want to be alone.

But then again, was it really wrong to be feeling this way when the world around you had literally crumbled and you were trying to build something new on top of its ashes? When you put it this way, nothing really seems wrong or right anymore.

Hell, even all possible consequences don’t sound so bad in this context.

***

Blaze never liked parties and this one was giving him a headache as well. It didn’t help that Dragov was obviously having fun trying to intimidate him. Of course he wouldn’t do anything too obnoxious, but the obvious stares and taunting smiles were enough to undermine him a little. At least Theo was visibly more relaxed in his presence. It might have been because of the alcohol, but the man actually spoke to him a few times during the game without sending him the terrified glare Blaze remembered from when they met in the basement.

So as soon as they were done with the game and drinking he retreated to the back, sipping on a drink he brought himself earlier and trying to take in the things happening around him. Most of the Peacekeepers seemed to be having a great time. They were dancing, talking, loud laughs echoing throughout the entire main hall. It was good to see people enjoy themselves, to have fun. It made him feel at peace as well. Hell, even Rhodes came by to get a drink with Dogman and he also noticed Kelso passing by, going for some snacks while talking to Joaquin. Anna came back from the bar and sat down between Theo and Dragov, laughing at something the leader of the Rikers said. He sometimes envied her the ease with which she communicated with people. It wasn’t just now that he noticed it first, but it was a little strange for him to see how close she became with Dragov.

He was almost done with his drink when he noticed Marta sitting down next to him, a drink in her hand as well.

“Having fun?” she asked, raising her glass as if she wanted to propose a toast.

“Actually, yeah,” he answered, clinking his glass against hers. “Although I prefer to have fun from a distance, if you know what I mean.”

“I would make a joke about you, fun, distance and sniper rifles, but I’m too drunk for that,” she laughed and took a sip of her drink. “Anyway. The game was great. Just wanted to let you know. The civilians playing it now are probably having even more fun than we did.”

It actually made him feel proud to see that indeed, a group of civilians was currently engaged in the game, laughing and pointing fingers at each other. He was surprised to notice a pregnant woman among them, sitting in the back, with a man leaning against the chair she was sitting on.

“Who’s the pregnant lady?” he asked, pointing towards the woman. “I don’t think I’ve seen her before.”

“They have been here for quite a while,” Marta answered, following Blaze’s gaze. “Nicole and Mark, they came here from around Pathway Park. Kajika found them in one of his old hideouts and brought them here. She was a little malnourished, but the medics here took care of that. Her baby seems healthy… and I guess it won’t be long until we have another inhabitant in Haven.”

“You really do know everything about everyone, don’t you?” Blaze asked, smiling at Marta.

“I do,” she said, obviously taking pride in it. “Because I ask and listen, Blaze.”

He nodded and finished his drink, standing up and putting his baseball cap back on.

“I guess I’ll be going to bed then,” he said, feeling a yawn approaching. “It’s getting late and I want to be well rested.”

“Actually,” Marta stood up as well, leaving her glass on the crate. “I wanted to talk to you about something else. I need to… ask you about something.”

“Oh, sure,” Blaze sat back down, looking towards Marta. “Whatever you need.”

Marta moved a little closer to the man, making sure to look him in the eyes. 

“We have been through a lot, haven’t we?” she said, smiling a little. “All this… hasn’t exactly been easy. What happened with SHD, what happened to our friends. It made me rethink my priorities. I think all this made me realize that we can be dead tomorrow and that there’s no time to waste.”

“I know how you feel,” Blaze nodded, leaning back against the wall. “It… wasn’t easy for me either. Believe it or not, my faith in SHD has also been tested much more than I would have liked. But I was surprised to see that the people I call my friends have always been there for me. They still are. So thank you for that. It’s good to know that I still have friends.”

Marta nodded and reached out to place her hand on top of his. It felt surprisingly nice to be touched, to feel warm skin against his. He has always been so focused on what he had to do that he never really had the time to stop and think that maybe it wasn’t all there is to life. That maybe he could have something more and that his existence could have a different meaning too.

“It is,” Marta said after a while, squeezing his hand a little tighter. He involuntarily moved his fingers to squeeze hers too. “I’m glad we managed to get through this. I’m glad we’re still alive. And I think we should be more grateful for what we have.”

It was suddenly very hard to look away from Marta’s eyes, probably because he just now realized that they had a very pleasant color and shape. For a moment he was sure that Marta was going to kiss him and honestly, part of him wanted it to happen. He felt his head spin with anticipation and it was suddenly very hot in the main hall. Somehow he realized that he was holding his breath, waiting for whatever the woman was planning to do. But nothing happened and soon Marta was pulling away from him, letting go of his hand and standing up, looking a little distraught.

“Marta, what are you…”

“Can I take a picture of you?” she asked, reaching into her pocket and taking out the Instax she had already shown him earlier. “I just realized that I took quite a lot of them but I'm still missing one with you in it.”

“Uhh… sure,” Blaze felt a little stupid because of the thoughts that have just ran past his head. “Yeah, of course.”

Marta smiled again and angled the camera the way she wanted to, motioning at Blaze with her hand to make him turn his face towards the light. He did just that and smiled when she told him to, hoping that the picture wouldn’t show the internal conflict he was just going through.

“Thanks,” she said, taking the picture between her fingers and shaking it a little. “Wow, it looks really good. You want to have it?”

“Nah, keep it,” he smiled, stress leaving him slowly. “Maybe you can put it up together with the others.”

“I will,” Marta placed the camera back in her pocket and slid the picture into the one on her chest. Blaze couldn’t help but notice that something wasn’t right with the way she was acting; almost as if it was forced, unnatural. He wanted to say something, to do something that would offer her comfort, but he had no idea what to do. As soon as he was finally about to reach out and hold her hand again to ask what happened, Paul Rhodes approached them from the other side of the room, waving at Blaze and immediately stealing his attention.

“Meyer,” he said, approaching them a moment later. “I have a job for you. Kelso told me you wanted to be more useful around here, yeah?”

Blaze nodded, his eyes darting between Marta and Rhodes.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Alright. I just received a distress call from the Brooklyn Bridge control point. I’m going to need four people to go and I want to send you and Wilkins along with two Peacekeepers. How’s that sound?”

Blaze blinked fast, surprised with what he was hearing, but he wasn’t going to turn such an opportunity down.

“Of course,” he answered fast, before Rhodes had any time to reconsider. “When are we leaving?”

“Now,” the man said with a tired sigh. “I’ll see you at the front gate to give you coordinates. You have ten minutes to complete your loadout. It’s probably nothing serious, but you know well enough that we need to check those.”

“Of course, sir,” Blaze stood up and straightened his T-shirt, sending Marta an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Marta, we’ll have to continue this when I come back.”

“No problem,” she smiled and stood up as well, smiling at him and Rhodes. “I’ll see you around then. Stay safe, okay?”

“Always,” Blaze winked at her and turned his head towards Rhodes. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”

“I know,” Rhodes answered with a surprisingly soft smile on his face. “That’s why I’m sending you there in the first place.”

***

For the first time in his life, Joaquin was feeling uncomfortable at a party. He usually enjoyed spending time with people, enjoyed drinks and funny stories, always made sure that all guests were having fun. This time however was a lot different. People were sitting around in groups, some more drunk than others, talking loudly, dancing and having fun, but he was afraid to go for too many drinks in case he might be needed. So he was sitting by a wall on an old wooden crate, drinking a soda and looking around the hall.

“I thought you would be having more fun,” he suddenly heard a familiar voice right next to him, turning around to see Javier Kajika leaning against the wall.

“Javier,” he said, probably more happy than surprised. “What brings you here? I thought you hated parties?”

“I do,” Kajika said and sat down next to Joaquin, the man moving a little to make more space on the crate. “But I went downstairs to shave and I figured you might be bored. So I decided to see what you were up to. Turns out I wasn’t wrong.”

Joaquin chuckled at that, only then noticing that Javier didn’t just shave his beard, but also his head.

“Why the change of style?” he asked, pointing towards the man’s head.

“More practical,” Javier shrugged and placed his good hand on the stump right below his elbow; Joaquin noticed he did that a lot. “Also, I managed not to kill myself trying to shave using my left hand. That counts as something.”

“You should’ve asked me for help,” Joaquin said before he managed to bite his tongue.

“No I didn’t and you know that,” Javier leaned against the wall then, sitting more comfortably. “I need to get used to this… new way of life.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Joaquin turned a little to look at the man. “I spoke before I even managed to think about what I was saying.”

“You always do that,” Javier smiled, his smile a little tired but also a welcome change of expression. “I already got used to it.”

“Hey, you want something to drink?” Joaquin was grateful to himself for managing to find another topic. “I wouldn’t suggest any alcohol, but I could get you a soda.”

“Sure, why not,” Javier shrugged once again. “It’s not like I have anything else to do or anywhere else to be.”

Joaquin stood up then and made his way towards the bar, which was luckily close by. Before he grabbed a soda for Javier however he noticed Dragov telling what was supposedly a very engaging story to Anna and Theo. Well, more _heard_ than noticed; the man’s voice was loud and he had obviously had too much to drink by then, especially judging by his extensive gestures.

“I noticed a task force leaving around an hour ago,” Javier said as soon as Joaquin brought him the drink, “Thanks. You know what it was all about?”

“No idea,” Joaquin brought his watch up and tapped the watchface, going through all messages. “Oh, wait. There was a distress call. They would normally send one person but this came from a Peacekeeper. Wow, Rhodes sent Blaze and Wilkins with them? Didn’t think he would do that, to be honest.”

“I’m not surprised,” Javier took a sip of the drink. “They just sit around and they’re good agents. Why not use them?”

“Well, Rhodes didn’t trust Blaze. But he’s a good guy. And I know he was bored. I mean, he was _so bored_ that he designed and wrote a game. That’s, like, another level of boredom.”

“Probably,” Javier smiled and stood up, stretching his back. “Hey, you think we could go for a smoke?”

“How much did you smoke today?”

“One cigarette. Come on. You said three is fine.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

It was very cold outside, but then again, it was December and it wasn’t really surprising. Joaquin put on a jacket and Javier wrapped a poncho around himself, stepping out only to curse at the strong wind.

Joaquin took a cigarette out of his pocket and handed one to Javier as well, lighting both of them with his lighter. Javier inhaled sharply and exhaled a gray cloud of smoke, smiling.

“I know smoking is bad for you,” he said, turning a little to look at his friend. “But I enjoy this so fucking much.”

“Tell me about it,” Joaquin did the same, enjoying the taste of the cigarette. “I mean, I should know better. But it’s the only thing that keeps me collected.”

Javier wanted to say something else but suddenly two people appeared outside as well, laughing and talking loudly. He turned around to see that it was Anna and Dragov, standing on the other side of the entrance, Anna waving at them with a cigarette between her fingers. Javier waved back and was suddenly taken aback with the smile that she sent him in return.

“Hey Anna!” Joaquin screamed and Javier almost had to cover his ears. “Since when do you smoke?”

“Do you know that tiny particles move between every single atom of your being?!” she shouted back at him as Dragov laughed, smoking a cigarette as well.

“Okay, she’s drunk,” Joaquin smiled and turned to look at Javier again. “Anyway. I’m glad to see people enjoying themselves. I think this party was a great idea.”

“I think so too,” Javier admitted, taking another deep breath. “Even though I’m not one for parties myself. It’s… I don’t know how to put it. But it makes me feel… good.”

“That’s actually a surprisingly coherent way to put it,” Joaquin laughed and noticed Javier chuckling as well. “I think so too. It’s good to remember what it’s like to be human.”

Suddenly Joaquin noticed a Peacekeeper running towards them, waving his hand. He turned his head a little to see if he was actually waving at them and yes, he was. As soon as he stopped right next to them he had to take some time to catch his breath before he started to talk.

“Serrano, sir,” he wheezed, taking deep breaths between every word. “I was looking for you. It’s about my wife. I think… I think she’s about to have a baby.”

Joaquin frowned, almost as if he didn’t understand at first.

“A… what?”

“A baby. Nicole’s waters just broke. Rhodes told me to find you. Said that you could help.”

“Oh boy,” Javier smiled as he took another whiff of the cigarette.

“What? But I’ve… I’ve never delivered a baby,” Joaquin was panicking now, his palms suddenly sweaty. “Okay. Okay. Where is she?”

“We moved her upstairs, she’s in the infirmary. But she’s having contractions and she’s very… stressed. Can you please come with me?”

“Yeah, sure, sure,” Joaquin looked around him nervously, a little lost in this situation. “Do you have the medical personnel there already?”

“They will be there soon. Let’s go. Please.”

“Okay, okay. Oh my God. Okay.”

Joaquin left so fast that he didn’t even notice his cigarette falling to the ground right next to him. Javier smiled, bent down and picked it up, tossing it into a garbage bin together with his own.

***

Dragov woke up with a headache unlike anything he’s ever experienced before. It was a headache that resonated throughout his entire body, making every single muscle hurt with every tiniest move he made. For a while he thought that maybe dying wouldn’t be such a bad idea; at least the pain would be gone. He would be gone as well, but he was just about hurting enough to overlook that tiny detail.

He tried to move his head and suddenly realized that his nose was pressed against the back of someone’s neck, the smell of this person’s skin strangely familiar. As soon as he regained feeling in his entire body he also realized that there was an arm wrapped around his waist. What the hell happened at this goddamn party?

He immediately remembered this one gathering his friends threw for him right after he joined the force, to celebrate and congratulate him even though he didn’t particularly feel like a winner then. It took him a long time to realize that he only chose this path out of spite towards his father. But it didn’t change the fact that the party was incredible - even when he woke up incredibly hungover in a stranger’s bed afterwards, two girls laying on top of him and one right next to them. And they were all naked. Plus, he didn’t remember a thing.

It seemed like he didn’t have a choice anymore, he had to move and at least try to assess the damage. For one, he was still wearing clothes. It couldn’t have been that bad this time around.

Opening his eyes was a challenge unlike anything he’s faced before but he finally managed, adjusting his sight to the room around him and well, it definitely wasn’t where he usually slept. He lifted his head a little, his surroundings swaying uncontrollably, but luckily he finally managed to see who he ended up in bed with. And it was both a little scary and a little funny.

He realized that the neck belonged to Anna, who was still sleeping with her back turned towards him, also fully clothed save for the shoes. Her arms were wrapped around Theo whose head was resting against her chest, his face buried in her T-shirt. The arm Dragov felt around his waist belonged to Theo as well as somehow they ended up pressed tightly against one another.

Well. At least they were warm.

Now, he was feeling like shit but he was never going to pass up on an opportunity to make a little fun of the nerds.

He placed his head back behind Anna’s neck and moved a little closer, pressing his chest flush against her back and wrapping his arm around her waist. Apparently it was enough to wake her up as she stirred a little, tried to stretch and ultimately froze, realizing that something was wrong.

She sat up quickly and looked around in shock, her eyes landing on Dragov who was desperately trying to pretend to be asleep. It was actually kind of endearing to see the dread creeping up Anna’s face and he had to try really hard not to laugh. Anna shook Theo’s arm and the man mumbled something under his breath, a shocked gasp coming soon after as he probably noticed what was going on.

“Please tell me nothing happened,” Anna whispered towards Theo with panic in her voice. “Because I don’t remember a thing.”

“Oh fuck,” judging by the tone of Theo’s voice the man was hurting just as much as Dragov. “Wait… why is he here?”

“That’s what I want to know! I don’t even remember coming back here!”

Theo rustled a little and removed the arm from around Dragov’s waist, sitting up as well. Dragov moved at that and slowly opened his eyes, smiling at the couple who were looking at him with horror.

“Why the fuck are you two so damn loud?” he asked, trying to sound as serious and innocent as possible. “Never had a threesome before?”

“Oh my God,” Anna sprung up from the bed then, still panicking and honestly, it was worth it just to see the expression on her face. “Hey. Wait. I’m still wearing yesterday’s clothes. And so are you guys. What the fuck, Dragov?! This isn’t funny!”

“That's where you're wrong, cupcake,” he laughed, sitting up as well, laughter actually helping his headache a little. “It’s actually _very_ funny. At least from my perspective.”

“No it’s not,” Theo stood up as well, squeezing his eyes shut probably due to a headache that was tormenting him as well. “I almost went into a full-blown panic attack.”

“Come on, kids,” Dragov stood up then, stretching a little and sending them another smile. “You know I’d take any excuse I can to make fun of you.”

“We know,” Anna sent him an accusatory glare but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t have taken her seriously at that moment; the look on her face almost made her look like a cartoon character. “We still don’t like it.”

“Alright, alright,” Dragov sighed and massaged his temples, trying to will the headache away at least a little. “Listen, I would never do anything to make you _too_ uncomfortable, okay? Relax. We were so drunk yesterday it's a miracle we even made it to a bed. Besides… it’s not fun when everyone’s drunk.”

Anna opened her mouth to speak, but ultimately decided against it and turned around to look at Theo. The man shook his head and reached for a water bottle standing next to the bed, drinking almost half of it in one go. He wasn’t looking too well, to be honest. He probably shouldn’t have been drinking that much.

“Alright,” Anna sighed, too tired to argue. “Just… don’t ever do this again. And we don’t speak of this.”

“Okay,” Dragov wanted to wink at her but the headache was too bad for that. “But still, if you ever _do_ want a threesome, just let me know.”

The faces Anna and Theo made at that comment might have been the funniest thing he’s seen in his entire life, including the shrimp on a treadmill video. It was well worth the headache.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Anna moved closer to Theo and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, kissing his cheek. “Let’s go get some coffee. And a shower. Wait, Theo, where are your glasses? Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” the man answered, sending a glare towards Dragov. “I’m still trying to get the mental image of what he just said out of my head.”

Anna sighed at that and she was obviously just about to say something, but a sudden message popped up on all of their watches. Opening the message Dragov noticed that it was an urgent meeting call sent by Rhodes. He felt a shiver running down his spine that suddenly made him clearly aware of what was going on despite the state he was in. They might have had a party last night, yes. But it didn’t mean that the war was over.

“Here,” he said, tossing Theo’s glasses towards the man; he just noticed them discarded on the bed. “Let’s go. We can get coffee on the way.”

“Yes please,” Anna sighed and straightened her shirt, taking a water bottle with her. “If Rhodes is calling all of us, it probably means something serious.”

“True,” Dragov gratefully accepted another water bottle that Anna handed him as well. “Thanks, cupcake.”

She nodded and made her way out of the room, Theo following soon after.

Dragov couldn’t shake the feeling that the meeting call couldn’t have meant anything good.

***

“What do you mean - lost?!”

There were so many people in the room it was a little hard for Rhodes to look at all of them simultaneously, so he just selected a random spot on the wall and focused on that. It was always easier that way, especially since he was still a little drunk from last night’s party.

“I mean what I said,” Rhodes answered Kelso’s question in a tone that was much lower than usual. “We lost contact with the team. They left for the control point six hours ago to answer a distress call. We know they reached the destination, but we haven’t heard from them ever since.”

Kelso stood up and opened a laptop, using her watch to connect to it.

“Agent: Blaze Meyer. Status: Unknown,” ISAC’s metallic voice came a moment later. “Agent: Skye Wilkins. Status: Unknown.”

“What the fuck happened?” Kelso was obviously angry, but Rhodes had no idea what to tell her. “When exactly did we lose contact?”

“I have no idea,” he answered truthfully. “We received no comments from the team. They never tried to contact us. The tracking stopped as soon as they approached the control point. All has been silent after that. There’s no way to reach them. The Peacekeepers haven’t been responding either.”

Kelso nodded and closed the laptop, probably a little too hard.

“We have to go after them,” she said after a while, looking Rhodes straight in the eyes. “We need to see what happened. We need to make sure they’re okay.”

Rhodes sighed deeply and looked around the room again. Not many people gathered there were fit for an excursion that could have proven to be extremely dangerous.

“I get it,” he turned towards Kelso, trying to reason with her. “It’s true that we have to investigate. But I don’t know how many people we can spare right now to send to a potentially dangerous location.”

“I’ll go myself,” her answer came fast, but it wasn’t really that surprising for Rhodes. “Give me three people and I’ll take care of it.”

“Alright. Who wants to go with Kelso and who’s feeling well enough? Keep in mind that it can be dangerous. We don’t know what happened at the control point. You could very well be walking into a trap.”

Some hands were raised, Barkworth’s and Marta’s among them. Marta wasn’t looking too good though so Rhodes decided to let her sit this one out.

“If I may, Rhodes,” Kelso spoke after a while, a panicky undertone barely audible in her voice, but Rhodes knew her well enough to spot it. “I’m going to take Barkworth and two Peacekeepers, if you can spare them, of course. Most of the people here are not feeling too well. Wait, where is Serrano?”

“Delivering a baby with the medical team,” Rhodes answered and Kelso’s eyes widened in surprise, so he decided to elaborate. “He’s helping them. One of the civilians started having contractions during the party and some complications arose in the meantime. They have been at it for a few hours now.”

Kelso opened her mouth to speak but ultimately didn’t comment, so Rhodes just let it go. The last update he had from Joaquin wasn’t too good, but he was trying not to let it get to him. They may not have been as well equipped as a hospital would be, but they were still going to do whatever they could to help the mother with safe delivery. He had to admit that he admired Joaquin’s strength and determination in the matter.

“Alright,” Kelso’s voice came soon after. “Barkworth, meet me outside. Whoever else is going to join, we leave in fifteen minutes. Get ready. We need to get to the bottom of this.”

Barkworth nodded and left the room immediately, the crowd dispersing with every passing second. They weren’t just tired and hungover though; some of them were looking terrified.

Just before leaving himself Rhodes caught Anna’s gaze from across the room and the desperation in her eyes made him look away immediately. She knew not to approach him when he was that stressed, so ultimately she left as well. As soon as everyone was gone Rhodes sat down behind the desk and sighed.

Something kept telling him that this, the strange disappearance that just happened, was the beginning of something far bigger and far more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

***

The control point seemed to be deserted, but Kelso needed to make sure. The wind wasn’t helping as cold gusts of air kept coming, slithering under her clothes and making her shiver every once in a while. She almost forgot how awful the winters in New York could be. She didn’t need to be reminded in this particularly trying time.

“Kelso to Barkworth,” she spoke into her mouthpiece, seeing the man’s silhouette on her three. “Anything?”

“Nothing, ma’am,” the man answered, using a flashlight to scope his surroundings. “I don’t see a living soul here. ISAC is not picking anything up either. It seems like this place has been abandoned for a while. The distress call has been sent from right where we’re standing though.”

Kelso nodded and motioned at the two Peacekeepers accompanying them with her hand, encouraging them to keep close to her. Something was not right. Peace and quiet only meant something good if there were ISAC signatures to at least suggest what happened. This time however there was nothing to go by; almost as if everything was scrapped on purpose.

They moved slowly but surely, Barkworth close enough for her to still see him but far enough to cover a different area. Kelso was planning to turn every single stone in the vicinity if she had to. She was going to find out what happened to her agents. And what happened to this place in general.

Step after step they were approaching the Brooklyn Bridge control point, no signs of struggle visible at this point. No shells, no blood, nothing that could indicate a fight. Why would the civilians send a distress signal then? What exactly happened here that made everyone leave?

She decided to speed up a little and get up the stairs towards a construction meant as a shelter and warehouse, usually dedicated to accommodating whatever resources the control point officers would be able to gather. Right now however it was completely empty, save for a few broken containers here and there and a pair of old shoes. She motioned at the rest of the team to leave, standing on a makeshift balcony outside and using her Pulse to mark any possible hostiles.

Nothing. Not even heat signatures from scavenging animals.

“Something’s not right here,” Kelso spoke into her mouthpiece again, looking at Barkworth standing on the other side of the construction. “It could be a trap. We have to be careful.”

Barkworth nodded and slid to the ground using a rope, hiding behind a wall to make sure he was protected in case of any surprise confrontation. There was no confrontation though; just wind howling below the bridge, making the cables and fractured mirrors hanging from its frame sway dangerously with every single blow. He didn’t like the creepy feeling it gave him, so he just continued sweeping room after room, unable to find anything even remotely useful.

After a few long minutes Kelso radioed him in to join her by a large door, one of the last rooms locked with a padlock that was almost too easy to shoot open. They slowly opened the door and noticed a huge cellar filled with wooden barrels, most likely containing wine at some point in the past. The cellar was cold and empty, giving Kelso a chill she really didn’t like. Especially since most of the lights were broken and almost the entire space was covered in darkness.

She used her flashlight again to take a look at the room, the smell of rotting wood mixed with an acidic stench of old wine irritating her nose. There was nothing there except for the barrels. At some point however she caught a glimpse of something on the floor, exactly in the middle of the room. A letter. No, a sentence. As soon as she approached it, she felt cold sweat running down her spine.

“Barkworth,” she spoke into her mouthpiece, the man’s footsteps echoing not so far behind her. “Are you seeing this?”

Barkworth was immediately next to her, a shotgun ready to fire in his hands. She heard him gasp as soon as he laid his eyes on the writing in front of him.

 _Extremis malis, extrema remedia_. Written on the floor with something that most likely could have been blood.

“ISAC,” Kelso lifted her wrist, her hand shaking a little. “Analysis.”

“Sample analyzed,” ISAC’s metallic voice echoed in their earpieces after a few seconds. “Agent: Blaze Meyer. Status: Unknown.”

Kelso almost felt like somebody punched her in the gut. Luckily, rational thinking kicked in and immediately made her look for a possible explanation.

“Rhodes,” she opened a wider communication channel this time, including the team waiting at Haven. “We found a blood sample. ISAC says it’s Meyer’s, but I’m not sure if I can trust him. Can you please run this past ANNA?”

“On it,” Rhodes seemed to be calm on the other side, but Kelso knew that he was most likely panicking too. “Same result with ANNA. It’s Meyer. Have you found him?”

“Not yet,” Kelso sighed, the feeling of dread suddenly even heavier on her chest. “We’re going to keep looking.”

“Understood. Stay safe, Kelso.”

“You too.”

“Uhh… Kelso?” Barkworth’s voice came from her left and almost startled her among the unusual silence in the basement. “You… I think you have to take a look at this.”

She turned around to check what Barkworth was looking at and she didn’t just feel her heart sink. She felt as if someone submerged her in ice cold water, punching the air out of her lungs at the same time. There was a body hanging from the ceiling, mounted on huge meat hooks and bound with chains. Bloody, but still wearing most of the gear, save for the weapons that have most likely been stolen. Kelso knew that gear. She knew every single set every agent under her command wore to every mission. And yet somehow she refused to believe what she was seeing right before her eyes. Especially since the agent hanging from the ceiling has been beheaded.

“Bring him down, Barkworth,” she said, surprised with how much her voice was shaking. “We… we need to run an analysis.”

“But ma’am, it’s…”

“Just do as I say!”

Barkworth nodded at that and climbed on top of the barrels to untangle the chains, slowly lowering the hooks enough so that the agent’s body was laying on the floor now. Only then were they able to notice multiple bone fractures that made the body look like an old rag doll. He hasn't just been killed. He was _tortured._

“ISAC,” Kelso couldn’t help the prickling sensation behind her eyelids. “Analysis.”

“Analysis complete,” ISAC answered after a few seconds, and yet to Kelso it still felt like eternity. “Agent: Blaze Meyer. Status: Deceased.”

She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to show any sign of weakness.

But she couldn’t help it.


	9. Fragile With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not easy to do the right thing when you're almost at your limit.

**4 DAYS LATER**

Joaquin was sitting on a very uncomfortable chair, holding a baby in his arms and making sure that the youngest inhabitant of Haven drank an entire bottle of formula. They were all taking turns with the baby as Nicole was still recovering from a very exhausting delivery. She was incredibly brave, honestly. Unfortunately, she also lost a lot of blood and for a while Joaquin was worried that they might lose her. Luckily the medics helped stabilize her and basically saved her life. The baby was healthy, maybe a little smaller than he would have expected, but at least the appetite was there. As it turned out to be a boy, Mark and Nicole decided to name him Michael after her father.

And here he was now, little Michael drinking greedily in his arms as unfortunately Nicole wasn’t able to produce enough milk herself. He wasn’t that surprised though - he knew how hard it must have been on her to live in an abandoned warehouse close to Pathway Park, with no way to make sure they had enough to eat every single day. He was glad Javier found them and brought them to Haven. They at least had a chance now. A chance at a better life and safety for their baby.

As soon as Michael was done with the entire bottle Joaquin made sure that the baby burped and placed him against his shoulder, planning to rock him for a while to help him get to sleep. After that he was going to bring him back to Nicole and get around to his usual duties.

He stood up and walked back and forth around the corridor, gently rocking the baby in his arms. Taking care of Michael was a great way to get his mind off some things. Frankly, he needed it a lot recently.

Every single person in Haven was shaken up about what happened to Blaze. They decided not to share too many details regarding his death with the civilians, but all of the operatives were horrified with what happened. He could still remember color draining from Anna’s face upon hearing the news and silent tears running down Marta’s cheeks as they kept staring at the photos Barkworth showed them. Joaquin had seen his fair share of gruesome deaths in his life, of course, but this one hit him differently. Blaze’s death was not just any death in the battlefield - it was torture, a show-off for the Hunters, an obvious display of power and cruelty. At first he thought, no, wished that it would all have been just a farce, a trick played on ISAC and ANNA. They’ve seen it before, they knew the systems could have been tricked. But it was not the case this time and as soon as he realized that it was real, that Meyer was  _ really  _ gone, he felt cold weight settle in his gut and he has been unable to shake it ever since.

Meyer was the best agent Kelso had. They still didn’t manage to find out what happened to Wilkins, but it was probably safe to assume that she was dead as well. SHD lost two agents in one day. It won’t be easy to get back on their feet in New York after that.

He felt so sorry for Kelso. She was trying really hard not to show it, but Blaze’s death broke her more than she wanted to admit. He heard her crying at least a few times during the last four days. His first instinct was to go to her, to talk to her and try to make her feel better, but he ultimately decided against it as she obviously didn’t want anyone to witness her moments of weakness. He understood. People had different ways of coping and all he could have done was respect that.

He didn’t know Blaze that well, but he  _ knew _ him and it was enough to make him grieve too. Luckily he had a lot of reasons to stay busy and keep his mind from wandering. At times like these though, when he was taking care of the baby, it was really hard to keep these thoughts at bay.

He suddenly noticed Anna and Rhodes approaching from the other side of the corridor, arguing about something. He was a little taken aback by that fact as they rarely raised their voices when talking to each other. It only proved that they must have been on edge too.

“That’s absolutely out of the question,” Rhodes was pointing his finger at Anna in a gesture that looked very serious. “There are many ways to go about it and you know it. We have to find another way.”

“There’s no other way and  _ you know it _ ,” he’s never seen Anna that irritated before. “And I’m going to discuss that with the team during our briefing. It’s not your decision to make, Rhodes.”

“It is. Don’t forget that I’m in charge here.”

“So what? Do you have a better idea?”

“Not yet, but I will. We’re not doing this.”

Joaquin sent them a questioning look as they came to a halt in front of him, immediately shutting up as soon as they noticed that the baby was asleep. Rhodes winced at the sight, trying to do his best not to look at little Michael. Joaquin had no idea why, but Rhodes seemed to be very uneasy in the newborn’s company. He didn’t want to pry and ask why that was, but something told him that it might have had a lot to do with his past and it wasn’t something he could just casually ask about.

“Hey there,” Anna said, the expression on her face softening immediately. “Everything okay?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Joaquin was speaking quietly, trying not to wake the baby. “What the hell is this about?”

“About the fact that she’s being unreasonable,” Rhodes sent Anna an angry look but kept his voice down too. “And emotional.”

“ _ I’m _ being unreasonable?” she sent Rhodes a scowl as well, but calmed down soon after. “Okay, I’m not having this conversation with you right now. We’ll talk this through with the team and see what they have to say. You’re not the one to make the decision here.”

“I’m not… okay, that’s enough. Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

With that, Rhodes turned around on his heels and left Anna standing next to Joaquin, her arms tense and her entire body shaking. He’s never seen her so angry before. Angry and definitely a little sad.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a while, adjusting Michael a little so that he would be resting against his arm more comfortably. Anna sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

“Yeah,” she said after a while. “Sorry you had to see that. We don’t really… see eye to eye on what we should do now. But we’ll tell you more during the briefing.”

Oh, right. Joaquin almost forgot that there was going to be a briefing in two hours.

“For what it’s worth, I trust your judgement,” he said, trying to send her a smile, but it was very hard to smile under the circumstances. “You can talk to me, you know.”

“I know,” Anna sighed again. “Thank you. I’m just… I don’t know. The last few days have been a lot. And I don’t really know what to do or what to feel. So I’m just trying to do something that matters instead.”

Joaquin understood. He felt the same way. Especially after what happened a few days ago and how his own emotions surprised him.

“We’ve been through worse,” he said, rocking the baby again. “And we still have a future worth fighting for.”

“You think so?” she turned a little to look him in the eyes, her gaze sliding towards the baby after a few seconds. “Yeah, I guess we do. Even if we don’t make it better for ourselves, we still have to try and make it work for Michael and the other kids, right?”

He nodded. It was a grim way to put it, but he agreed with the sentiment.

“I just… you know, it’s hard losing people,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “But seeing Michael here, it made me think that it’s not all that bad. We can still rebuild and get better. Even if we don’t get to benefit from that, maybe at least he will.”

“I really hope he does,” Anna smiled a little and reached out to stroke the baby’s head, but retreated her hand at the last moment. “Can I hold him for a moment?”

“Sure,” Joaquin lifted the baby a little and passed him over to Anna, making sure that he was secure against her shoulder. “Be careful though. He just ate.”

“Yeah,” Anna smiled again and started rocking the baby in her arms as well. “He’s so tiny.”

“That he is. But he has a good appetite.”

Anna nodded and seemed lost in thought for a moment, so Joaquin decided not to pry. If she wants to talk to him, she will. There was no use trying to force her.

“I keep thinking,” she said after a while, looking at the baby in her arms. “How we lost one life and gained another almost at the same time. It’s messing with my head, you know. I just… I know it’s a natural cycle of life. People dying, people being born. But killing each other shouldn’t be part of this cycle. There’s so few of us left and we’re still jumping at each other’s throats instead of building a better future together. I… I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Neither can I,” Joaquin admitted, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. “But there are still people who think more about their personal gain than they do about the wellbeing of the entire nation. And as long as they’re here, we’re not going to be safe.”

“You’re right,” the look in her eyes suddenly turned sadder, making Joaquin’s heart ache at the sight. “I guess we just have to make a difference where we can, right? Even if it means putting ourselves at risk.”

“Yeah. I don’t think there’s a safe way to go about this entire thing.”

Anna sighed again and pulled the baby away from her shoulder, handing him back to Joaquin.

“I wish Rhodes understood that,” she said after a while, turning around to walk away. “Maybe he will if he sees that I’m not the only one who thinks that way.”

Joaquin didn’t answer, because he didn’t know what to say.

The only thing he knew was that none of this was going to get any easier any time soon.

***

The briefing was the first official meeting of operatives since Meyer’s death and to say that the atmosphere was grim would have been an understatement. There was no small talk, no jokes, nothing. Just people sitting in their spots, looking at their watches, tablets, laptops or fingernails. Just to make sure that there was no eye contact. As soon as there was, people would immediately get emotional and there was no time for that. Marta knew it, she knew she had to stay focused. But it was so hard when you haven’t slept for the last four nights.

She blamed herself. Logically, she knew there was nothing she could have done. But would it happen if she made him stay? Would it happen if she told him what she was planning to? So many questions were left unanswered and now there was no way to know how it would have played out. All that was left was guilt, regrets and indescribable pain, almost physical in the way it pushed against her entire nervous system.

She knew they had to do something, that they had to react. That the Hunters were slowly beginning to be a much more serious threat that couldn’t be brushed off easily. And now that they had more intel, now that they had more data, they could finally get to the source. She was really hoping that what they managed to find would be enough to understand what the fuck was really going on here.

If not, it would have all been for nothing and she wouldn’t have been able to live with that.

“I see we’re all here,” Anna was standing in front of a whiteboard, Theo on her left and Rhodes on her right. “We have a lot of information to share with you. It’s probably going to take a while.”

Marta finally snapped out of it and looked around the room just to see grim faces and tired silhouettes. Barkworth was leaning against the wall, a notepad in his hand. Joaquin and Javier were sitting at a table nearby, both very focused. Kelso was also there, sitting on a crate in the front. Dragov was close to the whiteboard with a coffee mug in his hands, focusing on the drink instead of anything happening around him. Paul Bosevi was there as well, the look on his face impossible to decipher. It seemed like everyone just wanted to be left alone or be somewhere else. She didn’t blame them. If it wasn’t for the briefing, she would probably be sitting on the rooftop now, drinking some vodka that was miraculously left after the party.

“We managed to analyze all samples and parts that the team managed to salvage,” it was Theo speaking now. Marta had to admit that the tone of his voice was very pleasant, almost calming. “And we can confirm that without a doubt the Hunters and the Black Tusk are working together, even though at first we believed otherwise.”

Marta wasn’t surprised. Honestly, not much could surprise her anymore.

“They use the same jamming technology,” Anna placed a drawing on the whiteboard and spoke soon after. “And they somehow learned how to jam ANNA the same as ISAC. We still don’t know how that happened, but it doesn’t change the outcome. Haven was targeted by the Black Tusk and it was thanks to that fact we were able to connect the dots. But the fact that we managed to drive them away means that they probably know what we know now. We lost the element of surprise and now we’re a target just like SHD. Both for the Hunters and the Black Tusk.”

Anna placed another drawing next to the first one, this time showing a Hunter mask.

“We managed to find and eradicate a few of the Hunters stationed in New York,” this time Paul Rhodes started speaking, leaning against the table in front of him. “But definitely not all of them. We know that at least one more is on the loose and that he went after Meyer. We have to assume that Wilkins is KIA as well. There is no way to locate her body, but as she made no contact for the last few days we have to assume the worst.”

Marta instinctively turned her head towards Kelso. The woman was sitting with her back turned towards her, but Marta could still read a lot from her posture alone. She was devastated.

“Considering what we know,” Rhodes continued after a brief pause. “The Black Tusk are the mind of this operation. We were able to confirm that the leader of the BTSU, Bardon Schaeffer, was in touch with Natalya Sokolova, the current CEO of the Sokolov Concern. We believe that it was the Sokolov Concern that supplied them with tech and people. They operate from Moscow, so it would fit what we already suspected.”

“The thing is,” Anna started speaking again, taking a whiteboard pen from the table, “That it all started with the Black Tusk and that they’re pulling the strings here. Sokolova has no official operatives anywhere on the ground here, unless we decide to count the Hunters. Therefore, if we want to get to the bottom of this, we need to pull data directly from the Black Tusk servers. And if we want to feel safer in New York, we have to make sure that they have no official base of operations here. Unfortunately,” Anna reached towards the table and pulled out another piece of paper, this time showing a building that Marta immediately recognized. “For now they do. We managed to confirm that they operate out of the United Nations building that was at some point occupied by the Last Man Battalion. If we want to go for the data and for their operatives, we have to go for this base.”

Nobody said a thing at that point, but Marta could easily imagine what they were thinking. An assault on a Black Tusk base? It wasn’t going to be easy. Frankly, it was going to be an incredible tactical challenge.

“We can’t go in with a team that would be too big as we need to keep this quiet and fast,” this time it was Theo stepping to the front of the whiteboard and pointing towards the base of the building. “What we suggest is two teams with two separate tasks. One is going to take care of the operatives, the other one is going to go for the data. Luckily we know this building well enough, so we can assume where the server room might be located. The thing is… we’re going to need somebody with technical expertise. We can’t send just anyone as it’s probably going to require a lot of incredibly fast work.”

“Which is why I’m goin to go with the data team,” Anna moved to the front again and Marta had to blink twice to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. Did she… did she just suggest that she was going back into the field? “To make sure that we get all the information we need.”

“Which is absolutely out of the question,” there was so much anger in Rhodes’ voice Marta was sure he was going to explode.

“Oh, stop it, Rhodes,” Anna was angry too, but she was at least trying to keep calm and collected. “We talked about this. I’m our best shot.”

“Did you know about this?” Rhodes turned towards Theo and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Or maybe it was your idea?”

Theo was shocked and honestly, Marta was too. This wasn’t how she expected all this to unravel.

“You think I like this, Rhodes?!” there was so much pain in Theo’s voice it made Marta wince. “I don’t. And I would do anything I could to avoid it. But there’s no other way, okay? Besides, it’s not like she’s going to go alone. We’re going to pair her with someone with more field experience. And the plan is...”

“You’re talking as if we had people to spare. Let me break this to you - we don’t,” Marta had to admit that Rhodes was the last person she would have accused of letting emotions cloud his judgment, but apparently the recent events have shaken him up too badly. “We need our best operatives for the task force. There’s no single person who could…”

“Rhodes,” Dragov suddenly stood up, a warning tone present in his voice, “If I may, please shut the fuck up. I’ll go with her.”

Marta heard a few murmurs around the room, but no one dared to speak louder.

“You will?” Anna looked at him with uncertainty, obviously surprised with his declaration as well. “I was… we were thinking that some Peacekeeper support would be enough.”

“Yes,” he added after a while, not letting Rhodes speak again. “I’m back in good shape and I still have a debt to pay to both of you. This is the least I can do. And let’s face it, there’s no way anyone is going to get past me. So fill me in on the details and let’s plan accordingly.”

Anna actually smiled at that. It obviously made her feel a little more confident.

“Thank you. Now that we have this out of the way, let’s talk about the task force. We suggest Kelso, Serrano, Barkworth and Thorne. They should be more than enough to secure the base. The good thing is, after we do, me and Theo can use it as an additional communication tower. But this is a project for another time, so we’re going to go through the assault plan for now.”

“Anyway,” Theo started speaking again, but Marta could clearly hear his voice was a little shaky. This couldn’t have been easy on him either and Rhodes’ accusations were… well, they were very unfair. “You’re going to go in through the basement parking lot. We have to assume that they will be waiting for us, but it’s the only way in for now. After that, we go to…”

He stopped for a while as everyone’s eyes suddenly followed Paul Rhodes, the man turning around and leaving the room with a loud slam of the door.

On one hand, Marta wished he behaved like an actual leader in this situation.

On the other, she understood him perfectly.

***

Kelso was not sure if she should interfere, but regardless of Rhodes’ history with SHD, he was before all a friend she didn’t want to see suffering. As soon as the briefing was over she made her way towards his office, entering the room unceremoniously and shutting the door behind herself.

“Get out,” Rhodes said immediately, sitting behind his desk and pretending to be busy with paperwork. She sighed and approached him anyway, sitting directly in front of him.

“No,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. “I know you don’t like people calling you out on your bullshit, but this is too important to just ignore.”

He sent her a glare, placing his hands on the desk.

“ _ My _ bullshit? For fuck’s sake, Kelso,” she’s never seen him so angry before but she was planning to get thorugh this conversation anyway. “This is madness. She doesn’t need to go there. She’s going to get herself killed.”

“I understand how you feel,” she did, she really did. She was close to her operatives too, but the greater good was always something that was more important than their personal preferences. “But we need the best for this operation. And it’s not your decision to make. No matter what you think.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“It should be,” he said, but now his voice was laced with resignation. “What am I worth if I can’t protect my people, Alani? How am I better than SHD if I can’t make sure that they’re safe?”

“No one is safe anymore, Rhodes,” she was trying her best to sound sympathetic. “That’s the worst part. I can’t make sure that my people are safe and you can’t make sure that yours are either. But they’re all eager to play their part. Meyer knew what he was getting himself into. He knew the risks, just like Wilkins. And so does Anna. The fact that she’s ready to risk her own life for what she believes in should be admired, not detested. This is much bigger than just us and a few of our close friends.”

“ _ I know _ ,” he said through gritted teeth, not looking at Kelso. “I know. But I already lost her once. I’m not ready to go through this again.”

“But it doesn’t have to happen,” she said, trying to force him to look her in the eyes. “Dragov is going to go with her. You might not like him, but he’s a good operative. And I’m sure he’s not going to let her get hurt. If anyone can pull this off, it’s them. I’m sure that you know this. They know what they’re doing. Frankly, I’m a little impressed that she wants to go.”

Rhodes sighed again, still not looking at Alani. His gaze was focused somewhere to her right, probably on the door or the shelf right next to it.

“I should be impressed too,” he finally spoke after what felt like eternity. “But when she told me what her idea was, I almost felt like I was going to suffocate. I know we need this data, Alani. Trust me, I do. There’s no way to know what the Black Tusk are up to if we don’t connect to their servers. But this, this entire operation? It’s a long shot. Sure, it would be good to kick them out of New York for good. I’m just not sure if it’s going to work the way we want it to.”

“We were almost able to push them out of DC,” Kelso answered with a smirk. “I’m sure you remember what happened at the Tidal Basin. And we did it using four people teams. We have a good team here too. We… we lost some of our agents,” she paused for a while, trying not to let the thought of Meyer and Wilkins cloud her judgement. She will grieve after this is all over. “But we’re strong and we know what we’re doing. We have a good plan. And we’re going to make this right.”

Another long sigh escaped Rhodes’ lips and he finally turned his head, looking Kelso in the eyes.

“I know,” he murmured under his breath. “I know all that, Alani. I just can’t help but worry. We already lost so much. So many people. It gets harder and harder with every single day.”

“That’s true,” she nodded. “We lost a lot. But we also built so much together. There are so many civilians we helped. Don’t tell me it doesn’t count.”

“It does,” he admitted, the expression on his face softening a little. “Don’t think I don’t know this.”

“And this is exactly why we need to go for the Black Tusk,” she added. “Nobody is safe as long as they’re here. And we need to take care of them if we want to take care of the Hunters. There’s no other way to go about this. I’m sorry, but it’s the only way.”

Rhodes leaned forward once again, covering his face with his hands. She could see that he was conflicted. But it was never going to get any easier unless they faced the problem head on. She knew he understood this. She was just hoping that there would have been a way to make him more at ease.

“I know,” he said, his voice much quieter than it was a while ago. “I know and I understand what you’re saying. I just… I’m just so fucking  _ scared _ .”

Kelso felt a sting of pain in her chest at those words, trying really hard not to show how much it affected her. She’s heard him say that he was tired, angry, disappointed. But it was the first time he ever admitted that he was  _ scared _ .

“I’m scared too,” she whispered after a while, deciding to allow herself this moment of vulnerability too; something kept telling her that they might both need it in that exact moment. “But we have to do this.”

Rhodes pulled his hands away from his face and leaned against the back of the chair again, facing away from Alani.

He didn’t do it fast enough for her not to notice that he was crying.

***

James Dragov decided to take a break and get some fresh air after the briefing; honestly, he really needed some peace of mind. He was very surprised with Rhodes’ behavior, especially with him storming out of the meeting the way he did. He knew the man was emotional about all this, but this was taking it a little bit too far.

As soon as he stepped out onto the roof covered with a fresh layer of snow, he noticed another person sitting on one of the crates. He wasn’t surprised to see that it was Anna.

“Hey,” he said, sitting next to her and nudging her with his arm. “Are you okay?”

She turned towards him then and it was obvious that she was crying. Her eyes were still red and puffy, even though the tears obviously must have stopped a while ago. He felt his chest constrict with worry at the sight, but he wasn’t going to show it. He knew it wouldn’t have helped in the slightest.

“Yeah,” she said, sending him a sad smile. “I just… I guess I just had to let it all out.”

“Want a cigarette?”

“Yes please.”

They smoked in silence for a while, wind blowing around them. There was no sound other than that and it still felt so strange, especially in a city that used to be so lively. Dragov remembered it well. Sounds of the street, cars honking, people shouting, music blasting from car radios and cafes. He was so familiar with those sounds that silence made him uneasy. He was never going to get used to that.

“So you’re really going to go?” He asked after a while, sharing another cigarette with Anna.

“Yes,” she answered, not looking at him. “Are you really going to come with me?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

There was nothing he could have said at that moment that would have made her feel better, especially after the way Rhodes reacted. But he was still going to try.

“I think it’s very brave,” he added after a moment. “What you’re doing. And I’m going to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. I promised that I’m not going to fuck up again. I’m going to make this right.”

She turned around to look at him then, her expression changing into a delicate smile. Combined with the puffy eyes it made her look really tired.

“I know,” she said, exhaling a puff of smoke. “You’re a good friend, you know that?”

He didn’t. He never really thought about it that way. But hearing Anna say it made him believe that it actually might be true.

“If you say so, Cupcake,” he answered, taking another drag of his cigarette. “For what it’s worth, nothing is going to happen to you. You have my word.”

“I can fend for myself, you know,” she raised an eyebrow in a mocking gesture that made him laugh a little. “Well, maybe not the way  _ you _ can, but I still have a few aces up my sleeve.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. I mean, we’re going to leave in a week. That gives me quite a lot of time, especially with Theo’s help. I’m going to modify some of our shields to build a very durable armor set. I’ll modify one for you as well. Not to mention that I can amp the skills up a bit to give us more protection. Especially with the Seeker Mines.”

Dragov laughed in reaction to her words. He almost forgot that she was a very resourceful nerd.

“Speaking of Theo,” he said, reaching for another cigarette as he was already done with the second one. “How did he react? I mean, Rhodes was kind of an asshole during that meeting.”

“Yeah,” she sighed and leaned against the crate they were sitting on. “I was… I didn’t expect him to say what he did. But I talked it through with Theo even before I went to Rhodes. He begged me not to go and it… well, it almost broke my heart. But he also knew that there’s no other way. It’s the Black Tusk, for fuck’s sake. We can’t just send any operative into their base and hope for a miracle. Their systems are an incredibly complex mess and it’s not easy to navigate them. If we have to do this fast, I need to be the one to go. Rhodes obviously can’t do it. Besides, he can do much more if he stays in Haven. His people need him here. And Theo… well, Theo’s injuries were so extensive that it could impact his field performance. That narrows it down to me. And I’m going to go.”

Dragov nodded. He knew she was right. He knew there was no other way.

He also knew that he would protect her with his life if he had to.

“We’ll be just fine,” he said, taking another drag of his cigarette. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to make a hell of a team.”

“True,” she smiled again, taking a drag as well. “Who knows, maybe it’s going to be the first of many incredible missions to come.”

“We have to come up with a team name.”

“No way. I’m done with your cheesy names.”

“Hey! Nova is not a cheesy name!”

“It is. It’s so cheesy, Dragov. Oh my God.”

“And you’re only telling me this  _ now _ ?!”

Anna sent him another amused glare and busied herself with the cigarette again, tossing it into a bucket they used as a makeshift ashtray and lighting up another one. A moment of silence fell between them, this time much more comfortable than the fake calm Dragov detested ever since the Green Poison hit.

“So you’re saying,” Anna said after a while, looking at the horizon once again. “That we’re going to be fine?”

This question was no joke though, he could tell by the tone of her voice. She really needed to hear it from him and he needed to convince her that he believed it.

Strangely enough, he actually did.

“We are,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and bringing her in for a hug. “You’ll see.”

She didn’t say anything in return; she just wrapped her arm around his waist and brought him closer, letting his chin rest on top of her head. It made him feel comfortable, warm, but also strangely safe. Like he was exactly where he was supposed to be, in a moment that was the biggest comfort he could ever find among his new family.

He wasn’t sure if he'd ever felt that way before and it suddenly made him think that this, this right here, this was  _ right _ . And it still  _ could be _ , even though they lived in a world fucked up beyond recognition. That it doesn’t have to be just about survival or bare necessities, that they are all allowed more, they’re all allowed a new, comfortable life.

And he was going to fight for it like crazy.


	10. Ornament/The Last Wrongs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can never know when it’s going to be too late to say what’s on your mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what a ride this has been! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me throughout this journey. This fanfiction was incredibly important for me in this trying time (let's face it, 2020 was shit) and I'm so glad that I managed to complete both parts this year. Thank you for your feedback and your support. I'm really grateful for all the interactions we had and for the fact that you enjoyed this story!

**ONE WEEK LATER**

It was 5:00 AM when the team started gathering in front of the main exit from Haven, everyone obviously agitated and eager to finally get going. An entire week of preparation should have been enough, but naturally there was still some stress that made them all restless. Dragov was already in full gear, a set of modified armor Anna built for him using old shield parts turning out to be very comfortable as soon as he put it on. She didn’t have enough time to work on all their sets of gear, but with Theo’s help they still managed to make a few tweaks here and there. Barkworth’s knee guards were reinforced with a few additional alloys to make sure that his previous knee injury won’t be too much of a bother. Marta and Joaquin were equipped with reinforced chest plates fitted with shock-absorbing material should they have to engage in close combat. As for Kelso, Anna prepared a special backpack attachment that would easily work as a portable EMP. As the Black Tusk relied heavily on technology, anything including EMP charges would have proven to be very effective. Sadly, it worked both ways, so they needed to make sure that their tech would not be affected as well.

The weather was surprisingly good that day, clear sky and soft wind blows giving them hope that it won’t be too tedious to walk all the way to the UN building. They still had some time before the entire team assembled, so Dragov decided to go for a cigarette. As soon as he lit one up and took a drag Anna exited the building, Theo right next to her. They approached the man as soon as they saw him.

“Looking good, Cupcake,” Dragov smiled, noticing how unusual it was to see Anna in full gear. “This set not too heavy for you?”

“Very funny,” she answered, adjusting her backpack. “I used to carry a lot more back in the day. This is going to be a piece of cake.”

Dragov’s eyes darted towards Theo, who seemed to be very distraught. His face looked like he didn’t sleep much that night. Dragov wasn’t surprised though. It must have been hard on him too.

Anna turned towards Theo and took one of her gloves off, reaching out to place her hand on his cheek. Theo leaned into the touch and closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

“Please come back to me in one piece,” he said, his voice so quiet Dragov barely heard the words. “Please.”

“I will,” Anna answered and leaned in a little more, resting her forehead against his. “I’m going to be fine. You’ll see. Now go and get some sleep.”

“There’s no way I’m going to fall asleep now,” Theo chuckled, nuzzling Anna’s nose with his. “But I can promise I’m going to try.”

“Good. I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Theo wrapped her in an embrace after that and went for her lips in a heated kiss, one that almost made Dragov feel like he should have given them a moment of privacy. As soon as Theo pulled away from her however he squeezed her hand gently and turned around, nodding towards Dragov and leaving to go back to Haven. He didn’t look back, but Anna’s gaze was focused on the entrance long after he was gone.

“You okay?” Dragov asked after a moment, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

“No,” she answered, putting the glove back on and making sure that her assault rifle was securely attached to her backpack. She also had a rocket launcher fitted on the right, so the other weapons she carried were relatively light. "But I'm going to be fine."

“Are we all here?” Joaquin suddenly approached the group, looking around. Marta was sitting on a nearby bench, busy with a small piece of paper in her hand that Dragov couldn’t identify. Barkworth and Kelso were there as well, talking to each other next to a fallen pillar, but the conversation stopped as soon as they noticed Joaquin approaching. “Well, I guess it’s time to go then, huh?”

Dragov nodded and reached towards his backpack for one last equipment check.

There was no use to drag this out longer than necessary.

“Let’s do a quick strategy recap, shall we?” Kelso and the rest of the team moved closer, making sure that everybody could hear what she was saying. “We split into two teams. Team Alpha, which is me, Thorne, Barkworth and Serrano is going to go for the Black Tusk forces stationed in the UN building. We’re going to go in hard and make sure that we sweep as much as possible. Team Bravo, Clarke and Dragov, is going to go for the server and control rooms to get the data and to turn off all Black Tusk defences they can get. And you’re going to have to be opening the door for us most of the way. So make sure you’re in position before we reach the fourth floor. We’re going to need that support if we want to clear the building. And if we want to get out alive.”

“Yes ma’am,” Barkworth said first but the team followed in unison. Anna and Dragov nodded in acknowledgement. Their role in this was supposedly much less complex than the Alpha Team, but required much better coordination. Hopefully their presence in the building was going to create enough ruckus that they would be allowed to work in peace. Well, at least _mostly_ in peace. Unless the Black Tusk shut the servers off and the team is left with nothing. Anna told Dragov that it was her biggest worry - if they notice her rummaging through the system, they might cut them off and that would be the end. But she knew how to work fast and she knew what to go for. So he was simply going to put faith in her skills.

After the final equipment check and some additional comments on the plan, the Peacekeepers opened the gate and let both teams out to set out on the mission.

It was going to be a hell of a long day.

***

An entrance to the underground parking lot had to be breached using an explosive - Kelso selected a relatively safe spot on one of the walls and placed the explosives, gesturing at the team to move away from the area. As soon as everyone found a safe spot she triggered the explosion, concrete and dust sent flying with a bang that was surprisingly quiet.

“We know this was their least checked location because of that wall,” Kelso was on the comms as they were slowly making their way inside, checking every single corner for possible enemies. “But we can’t know how much time we have. We need to separate before they see us together.”

“Yes ma’am,” Dragov checked his shield and his shotgun, gesturing at Anna to follow him. “We have to go left anyway. There’s a possible server room here in the basement.”

“Good luck, Team Bravo,” Kelso used a flashlight to light the way in front of them, turning it off a moment later. “We’ll be on the comms at all times. Let us know when you get the data and when you’re able to disable their defence systems. We’ll be waiting for you to open the door.”

Anna and Dragov nodded and turned left, taking a route that would lead them to a nearby location that has already been used as a communication hub by the Last Man Battalion while they were stationed there. It might have been a year ago, but it would be stupid to discard a working infrastructure and to build something new from scratch. Nobody had that much time and resources, even the Black Tusk. So it had to be one of the three.

“I’m picking up a conversation,” Anna opened a communication channel less than two minutes after their separation from the group. “Agent Kelso, I think you’ll want to hear this.”

Kelso stopped together with Team Alpha, hiding behind a few old cars just in case. Completely still behind a huge pick-up truck Alani heard some static first, but it turned into three very distinct voices soon enough.

“We have to make sure we get them for good,” there was no way not to recognize the first voice, obviously belonging to Faye Lau. “Rhodes is smart, so we have to be way smarter. How’s the delivery going?”

“Fast enough, boss,” this time the voice belonged to someone impossible to identify. “We should have three more units before the end of the week.”

“Perfect. You think we’ll be able to use them soon?”

“Don’t see why not,” a third person joined the conversation, a man, his voice also unfamiliar. “But we have to be smart about this too. And we have to work on our jamming devices. We don’t want a repeat of what happened two weeks ago, do we?”

Kelso sighed. They were obviously talking about their assault on Haven.

“No we don’t,” Faye Lau answered, anger present in her voice. “We won’t fail for the second time. Both SHD and Nova are going down and I don’t care how much firepower we have to use to do it. Kestrel, can you make sure that we’re on track with our supplies?”

“Yes boss,” the man whom Lau just called Kestrel exited the channel, leaving just the two of them.

“Magnus,” she spoke a moment later. “Make sure we don’t run into any surprises.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The channel closed after that and Kelso immediately opened another one that would allow her to talk to Rhodes together with the rest of the team.

“Did you hear that?” she asked, still crouching beneath the pick-up truck.

“I did,” there were no emotions in Rhodes’ voice. “I’m hoping it means that Faye Lau is there?”

“Yes,” Anna was fast to answer, “We have her signature moving around the building. I can’t confirm which floor she’s on though. ANNA’s readings are inconclusive.”

“And we believe that Kestrel and Magnus, or whatever they’re called, are her most trusted people here. So we have to go after them as well.”

“I’ll see what we can find,” Rhodes’ voice was immediately accompanied by a sound of fingers clacking on a keyboard. “We’ll get back to you. But if you engage Lau… make sure she won't cause us any more problems.”

“Thanks. We will. Over and out.”

By the time Kelso and Team Alpha managed to move closer to the basement parking lot exit that would ultimately lead them towards the actual UN building, they hadn't encountered a single Black Tusk operative and it seemed a little suspicious. Anna warned them about possible traps and photocells that could alert the BTSU to their presence and Kelso was ready to use her EMP charge at all times, but surprisingly enough there was no need for that.

“I don’t like this,” Joaquin commented as they were making their way outside, towards the entrance to the building. “I remember how fortified the Last Man Battalion was when we entered through here. Even the parking lot was a battleground.”

“Maybe they’re not expecting us,” Kelso hid behind a crate for a second and decided to talk to Anna. “Clarke, status?”

“We’re almost in the building,” Anna’s voice came through a little distorted; they must have been a lot farther. “Unfortunately, the first location was a dead end. No equipment of any kind. We’re opening the door to the second spot as we speak.”

“Good. Keep us posted,” Kelso stood up again and took a careful look around, making sure that they were safe to leave. “Alright, team. Let’s go.”

She quickly ran towards the door, motioning at the rest of the team to follow her. As soon as they were by the door Marta picked the lock and opened it, letting them all inside into a still majestic but very rusty lobby.

“It must have been beautiful here once,” Marta commented, looking around the hall.

“It still is,” Joaquin answered, making sure that his assault rifle was ready just in case. “Who knows. Maybe we’ll be able to move in here at some point.”

Kelso wanted to answer with something similarly hopeful, even though she didn’t really share the sentiment. She didn’t have enough time though - the shot that came right after Joaquin spoke almost grazed her knee.

“Get to cover!” She managed to shout before she instinctively ducked to her left, pulling Marris together with her.

Looks like the enemy finally decided to send a welcome party.

***

Anna and Dragov were making their way through a dark corridor, their path illuminated only by a flashlight that Anna used very carefully. They needed to make sure that it was safe to pass before they moved forward, making Dragov a little on edge.

“Why can’t we just rush past these?” he said to her, motioning towards the sets of doors on their left and right.

“Do you really want to alert the Black Tusk to our presence, BFG?” Anna quipped and busied herself with the Jammer Pulse attached to her shoulder. Dragov noticed her checking it every once in a while, as if she was making sure that it was still there.

“I’m pretty sure they already know we’re here,” he answered, quickly checking his shotgun. He noticed that going through a routine of checking his weapon actually calmed him down. “And we don’t really have a lot of time.”

“I know,” was it his imagination or was Anna getting impatient? “But we’re almost at the third location. It has to be the one we’re looking for. There’s no other place they could have used as a server room… unless of course they decided to build a completely new infrastructure, but I don’t think they had this much time.”

Dragov nodded and moved a few steps forward again, making sure not to make too much noise on the creaking floor. They were currently walking through what once could have been offices or conference rooms; most of the doors were closed, but the open ones usually led into rooms that were completely stripped of anything useful. It looked like someone left in a hurry and whoever came in there afterwards and went through the stuff that had been left behind did it in a hurry as well. There was no living soul on the entire floor, which was both good and a little worrying. Definitely very creepy.

Dragov suddenly heard a creak that _definitely_ didn’t come from underneath his boots. Or Anna’s. He motioned towards her and forced her into a halt. She stopped immediately, a questioning look on her face, but didn’t say a word. Which was good, because he _really_ had to listen.

The creak came again, this time seemingly louder, a little closer. He couldn’t see any farther than soft light seeping in through an open window in a nearby room would have allowed. So he stood there, waiting. Listening. His nerves felt like they were on fire, the overwhelming silence ringing in his ears. He hated it, hated feeling suspended. But he had to focus and he had to focus _hard_.

He was ready for the blow when it came towards him, an adversary jumping outside from one of the rooms and trying to go for his head. He threw his shield to the ground and caught the attacker’s wrist, twisting it and immediately hearing a grunt of pain.

“Jammer!” he screamed, but Anna was faster and already set off the charge. The Jammer Pulse was more important for the comms though than it was for any types of skills. They couldn’t have risked anyone learning about their presence in the corridor. The other team was the task force. They were here for the servers and they needed to stay low.

Anna forced one of the doors open and hid behind it, not gaining much protection from gunshots but creating enough tactical advantage that she managed to launch a striker drone. She heard Dragov’s grunt but didn’t see him; he was obviously still wrestling with the assailant, so she decided to step in as well. Readying her assault rifle that she had to temporarily forsake in order to launch the drone, she made sure that it was loaded and peeked from behind the door. A bullet cut through the air on the other side of the wall, but didn’t even come close to hurting her. So she made sure to aim and support the drone in any way she could.

Dragov brought the assailant to the ground and twisted their arm, but it wasn’t enough to disarm or discourage them. They immediately went for a pistol that shot towards Anna but missed by a lot, Dragov trying to go for the arm holding the weapon in order to disarm the attacker. Unfortunately they used his own body weight against him and made him fall forward, letting go of their arm and wriggling free from his grasp. Dragov reached for his shotgun, but before he managed to aim he felt a strong kick to his left shin that made him fall to his knees.

The drone sent a swarm of bullets flying towards the assailant and that gave Anna a moment to move and Dragov a moment to reach for his shield again. Unfortunately their adversary used this opportunity to jump to the front and hide behind an old metal cart that was now laying on the floor on its side. It wasn’t too big, but unfortunately big enough to serve as a cover.

“Kelso, come in,” Anna opened the comms, hiding behind Dragov and his shield. “We have encountered a Hunter. I repeat, we have encountered a Hunter.”

“What?!” Kelso seemed to be surprised on the other side, but Dragov wasn’t that shocked to hear bullets flying on the other end. “A Hunter? Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Anna was fast to answer but honestly, Dragov was surprised as well; how did she know that it was a Hunter? “The equipment is a match. They tried to launch a Jammer but I countered it. We jammed their communications, but I don’t think we have a lot of time until somebody knows we are here. We have to take them down.”

Dragov had to take his focus away from Anna’s voice for a while as the Hunter in question threw a shrapnel grenade towards them. He managed to kick it back just in time, unfortunately sending it much farther than the Hunter was hiding. He checked the shield once again to make sure that Anna was also protected behind him. Peeking over his left shoulder he noticed her rummaging through her pocket. She was also talking to Kelso about something else, but he was so focused he couldn’t make out all of the words.

He started moving forward, Anna two steps behind him, trying to get closer to the Hunter. He knew how dangerous the Hunters were and how hard it was for their people to fight them. He wasn’t going to back away though. There was just one of them and they had to power through. There was no other option.

He reached for his shotgun and as soon as the Hunter managed to shoot the drone down he aimed and took a shot, more as a warning than anything else - there was no way to get the Hunter from that angle. But he was getting closer and he needed to keep the fucker in one spot. Sadly, he had no idea that the Hunter would _jump_.

The jump quickly placed the Hunter between him and Anna, with not enough time to load his shotgun again. Fuck, was that what the fucker was actually waiting for? It all happened in what felt like a split of a second - the Hunter reaching for an axe, Anna readying her gun. He had to act fast, so he went for the Hunter’s back - hitting them with his shield so hard it sent them flying forward, the axe still in their hand, but no way to keep balance.

There was not enough space between them to go for a shot so Anna used this opportunity to kick the Hunter in the stomach; the grunt that left their mouth was one definitely laced with pain, but it was still not enough to overpower them completely. Falling down the Hunter caught Anna’s leg and brought her down with them, twisting a little and using the force to bring themself back up. The kick that followed this move connected with Anna’s shin so hard Dragov heard a bone break and it almost made his heart skip a beat. Anna screamed with pain and he knew he had to be fast about what he was going to do next. So he threw away the shotgun and used the shield for a powerful blow that connected with the Hunter’s back and sent them flying forward, away from Anna, visibly stunned with the force he put into the push as part of the shield connected with their head. It might not have been enough to bring them down, but Dragov got what he was hoping for. An advantage.

He threw the shield to the ground and pulled at the Hunter’s jacket to bring them in for close combat. That was what he was always good at.

He managed to duck one of the attacks but not the other; an axe swing connected with his hip and he felt the blade push through his skin, sending a jolt of pain down his leg. But there were two sides to every situation like this; the Hunter was still for just enough time to allow him to go for their chest.

He hit hard, with all the force he had, sending the Hunter backwards with a sharp intake of breath. Unfortunately as soon as the blade was pulled out the pain got even worse, shooting through his stomach as well. He tried really hard to concentrate on something else though; he had to be fast and he had to be effective. So he went for the only option he really had.

He caught onto the Hunter’s arm, the one holding the axe, and twisted it all the way he could, going for the legs at the same time. He didn’t feel like he would be able to lift the right one because of the pain, so he used the left and went for a strong kick that allowed him to send the Hunter in the other direction, the Hunter’s arm popping out of its socket. He heard a scream of pain and… wait, was this Hunter a woman?

He didn’t have time to think as the Hunter was still trying to overpower him, but luckily Anna came to help. She was sitting on the floor - he was trying really hard not to look at her leg, he didn’t want to see, they will have time to take care of this afterwards - but she took out her sidearm and went for any unarmored part of the attacker’s body she could aim for - it just happened to be a kneecap.

The Hunter fell to the ground with another scream of pain, but Dragov knew that this could have been far from over. So while he held her down, Anna tried to go for the other kneecap, but ultimately settled for a shoulder because of too much wriggling.

“Fuck!” Came a loud scream that Dragov could have sworn sounded familiar. What the fuck was going on here? Using his leg to press down on the Hunter’s chest, he reached upwards and went for her mask. He yanked it off with one fluid motion and he almost forgot to catch his breath because of what he saw.

Under the mask was no other than Skye Wilkins, an Agent they thought to be dead just like Blaze Meyer.

Another moment of hesitation unfortunately cost him another blow with an axe that he was not ready for; Skye immediately switched the axe between her hands and went for his shoulder wedging the blade deep, right next to the strap of his chest plate. The pain was overwhelming and sharp, making him curse out loud. He willed every particle in his body to move, catching Skye’s wrist and holding it in place. Unfortunately she was still able to yank the axe away, sending a flood of excruciating pain down his arm and up his neck.

He heard another gunshot and heard another scream that definitely came from the Hunter; this time the bullet went through her arm. Anna was obviously trying to incapacitate her, not kill her. He didn’t have that much mercy though. She was going down, even if he had to do it with just one hand.

He placed his left hand on her neck and pressed hard, making her choke immediately. He knew exactly what spot to go for and there was no hesitation in his move - he crushed her windpipe with one strong push, effectively making her go limp and boneless beneath his knee.

There was a moment of silence, one that Dragov felt like lasted at least an hour. Anna was looking at him with eyes wide open, a grimace of pain mixed with shock. And he couldn’t move. He couldn’t have moved a fucking finger. His hip was bleeding, his shoulder was bleeding. And it hurt like hell.

“Anna to Kelso,” Anna’s voice felt like something that came from far away, from another dimension or another world. The pain in her voice made him feel weak in the knees. “We… We confirmed the Hunter’s identity. It was Skye Wilkins.” Static. Silence. “Kelso, are you there?”

“Affirmative,” he couldn’t have deciphered the emotions in Kelso’s voice even if he tried. “You okay?”

“No,” Anna answered fast and a grimace of pain deformed her face again, sweat glistening on her forehead. “My leg is broken. Dragov took two axe blows. We have to find a way to keep moving. She… we disabled her comms. They don’t know what happened. Yet.”

“Okay,” Kelso’s voice was shaky, but Dragov couldn’t tell if it was because of what she just heard or because of the connection. “Keep moving and keep us posted.”

“How bad is your leg?” Joaquin jumped into the conversation, every word he said muffled by the sound of gunshots.

“Pretty bad. I’d give it a 7 out of 10. Hurts like hell and I think it’s an open fracture.”

“Keep it secure. I’ll take care of it when we get to you. And Dragov?”

“Bleeding. Don’t know yet.”

“Talk to me if you need me.”

“Okay.”

Anna tried standing up but the pain in her leg was excruciating; and yes, it was an open fracture, she could see the bone straining against the fabric of her trousers. She cursed loudly and reached for the rope she had in her pocket, hoping to be able to secure her leg with something that would keep it still; Dragov was with her in seconds, yanking the rope away from her and using a panel from Wilkins’ chest plate to secure Anna’s leg.

“It’s going to hurt,” he said, holding her leg just below the knee and over her ankle, “but I have to secure this before we move.”

He felt his head swimming because of the pain, but focusing on Anna was a very welcome distraction from his own injuries. She nodded and he placed the panel behind her calf, using the rope to attach it to her leg. He could see that she was in a lot of pain; it made him more preoccupied than his actual injuries.

“You’re bleeding,” she said, her voice really quiet. “How… bad is it?”

“Hurts like fuck,” he spat, standing up with a groan and pain shooting through his entire body again. “But we have to go. Come on.”

He reached out for her and she took his hand, propping herself up and standing on her left leg.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice very weak but also determined. “We need to get to the next corridor. Door 506. Should be less than fifty meters away.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

He tried to support Anna with a hand around her wrist, but the pain was almost unbearable, especially in his hip, but he had to go through with it. She couldn’t walk on her own, so it was the least he could have done.

The fifty meters they had to traverse felt like the longest distance he had to walk in his entire life. The room however was definitely the place they were looking for; it had a digital lock that Anna had to crack in order to open it. As soon as they made their way inside, he slumped to the ground right next to one of the server shelves. Anna propped herself up next to the door, closing it behind them and fumbling with the lock for a while.

“Serrano, this is Clarke,” it felt like her voice was coming from far away; Dragov had to close his eyes because the entire room was swimming. “We’re in. We found the server room. The new lock combination is 4-8-15-16-23-42. I’m going… to get to work.”

“Understood. Are you okay?”

“We’ll be fine. Just get here as soon as you can. I’ll be disabling the systems soon.”

She used the shelves to move around the room and she was suddenly standing over Dragov, looking at him with a very conflicted look on her face.

“Get to work,” he said, gritting his teeth with pain. “I’ll be fine.”

“You have to put pressure on those wounds. And we have to clean them.”

“I know.”

He did know. Sadly, there was no way he would have been able to do it.

Anna leaned against one of the shelves, moving around a little and taking her backpack off. She took out two bottles of water and handed them over to Dragov.

“Clean the wounds. I’ll be with you in two…”

She didn’t manage to finish because a violent shudder went through her body, making her throw up on the floor; she only managed to turn away enough that she wouldn’t stain his boots. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and groaned.

“Cupcake, you okay?” Now Dragov was genuinely worried. She must have really been in a lot of pain.

“Fuck no,” she spat, turning around to reach for one of the shelves. Dragov could see it now; layers upon layers of chests, computers and screens, with a control panel in the very front. Anna moved towards it and took something out of her backpack, leaning against the control panel and going for the keyboard.

“Hey Theo,” he heard her speak into her mouthpiece. “Talk to me. Anything. I need you to pick up the data I send you. Yes, I’m okay. Just in a lot of pain. No, please. Just keep talking. I need you to focus.”

He couldn’t hear what Theo was saying as she set up a private connection, her back now turned towards him as she was furiously typing on the keyboard, grunting from time to time. She was going to be okay and that was all that mattered. A little pain has never killed anyone, right? It was just a broken bone. He’d seen worse. He didn’t have to worry.

At least he hoped so.

***

“Kelso! Kelso? You okay?”

No. She wasn’t okay. She was sitting behind a panel, trying to catch her breath. Wilkins? _Wilkins was a Hunter_ ? She expected a lot, but she didn’t expect _that_. Did it mean that she was the one who killed Meyer? Was it the reason why he let his guard down? Fuck, it all made sense now. Everything was coming together and it made her feel sick to her stomach. Why didn’t she see this coming? Why didn’t she predict what could have happened?

No. She will have time to process it later. She needed to snap out of it and focus on what she had to do. They still had a mission. The Black Tusk forces were onto them and pinned them in one of the atriums, going at them from all sides. It was almost impossible to find cover among the rubble. She was really hoping that Anna would be able to turn the defences off soon. They could really use some help with the turrets and Warhounds.

“I’m fine,” she finally answered Serrano, going for her sniper rifle. “Sorry. Let’s get those fuckers.”

The surroundings were tough but they had to manage; she used her rifle to go for the farthest operatives, downing them one by one. Barkworth and Thorne were a little to the front, using their Stinger Hives and drones to weaken their enemies. She also noticed a set of Seeker Mines going off to her left; Serrano wasn’t idle while he was waiting for her response. They needed to get through this and they needed to be fast. Especially if they had an opportunity to finally get Faye Lau.

The Black Tusk knew that they infiltrated their base, but they had no idea of knowing that a second team went for the servers. She was just hoping that they manage to buy them as much time as necessary. She had faith in Anna’s abilities. She was just hoping that her injuries won’t be slowing her down.

They made their way to the fourth floor, managing to sneak past the turrets and to take down the Warhounds. She had no idea how much time had passed, but it couldn’t have been a lot. They secured their positions in front of the stairs and waited. The enemies were not letting them power through easily.

“Clarke to Kelso,” she heard Anna in her headpiece and honestly, her voice felt so soothing in that moment. “I managed to disable the defences. You should have it a lot easier now.”

“Did you get the data?”

“Yes. And you have no idea what we found here. Plans, schematics… I was able to get into their central database before they shut me out. I have supply routes, weapon schematics and…” she paused for a while and Kelso heard something that sounded a lot like someone vomiting. “Sorry. We have some documents we’ll have to decipher but we’ll do it in the base. I didn’t get all of it, unfortunately, but we should… we should have a lot to give us an advantage.”

“Are you okay?”

“No, but Dragov is worse. Get ready for the door. I’ll open all of them at once and cut their access. I have to take care of him afterwards. Make sure you get here as soon as possible. He needs your help.”

“Understood. Can we…”

“Just get here fast. Please. We are…”

She suddenly heard a loud crack of static and Anna’s voice was gone, drowned out by white noise that died down soon after too.

Fuck. They cut their comms.

She made her way towards Serrano, trying to avoid the bullets flying in their direction. Her heart was pounding so loud that she could hear it in her ears.

“Serrano,” she shouted, squeezing in behind cover next to him. “They cut our comms. We need to move fast.”

“I know,” he answered, peeking from behind his cover and throwing another set of Seeker Mines towards a group of Black Tusk operatives. “From what I heard, Anna and Dragov could use our help. Maybe I could get to them fast.”

“No,” Kelso was fast to answer, readying her sniper rifle again. “We need you here. If we want to do this, we have to stay together.”

Serrano nodded, but she could see that he wasn’t thrilled with the prospect. It didn’t matter in the slightest though. She needed him here and nobody else was coming for Anna and Dragov; she locked the door from the inside and changed the combination. They can try, but it would most likely all be in vain. They needed to move forward and try to get Faye Lau. The moment they learned that she was here their objective had changed.

As if on cue, the door they were talking about opened behind the Black Tusk forces, catching them a little off guard. Team Alpha used this opportunity to take care of the remaining soldiers, Kelso downing most of them with her sniper rifle. Anna kept her word. She opened the door. All they had to do now was keep moving. With or without comms, they knew what they had to do.

It wasn’t going to be easy, but then again, it never was.

Barkworth and Thorne were going in first, Kelso and Serrano following behind them. They made their way up the stairs and towards an elevator shaft, using the lines there to zip upwards and skip a few floors. As soon as they exited the shaft, a few additional hostiles were waiting for them; nothing they wouldn’t have been able to overcome though. They approached a big open space, something that most likely used to be a conference room. Even from far away they could see Faye Lau standing by a huge oval table, one resembling those they saw in presidential quarters of the White House; there were papers scattered everywhere, a few laptops and a huge screen showing something that looked like a map. She wasn’t going to get away. Kelso was going to set things straight.

“Don’t let her run,” she shouted towards the team, motioning with her hand. “If possible, take her alive.”

The team nodded and Marta immediately ducked behind one of the shelves, readying her flamethrower to make sure that she cuts off any escape routes Lau might have tried to go for.

“Kelso!” Lau shouted, hiding behind the table and obviously going for her weapon as well. “There’s no way you can win this. Give up and maybe I’ll let your people go.”

“You never let any of my people go,” Kelso answered and ducked down, going for her sidearm and shooting underneath the table. A few Black Tusk operatives were closing in on her, but Serrano threw another set of Seeker Mines towards them and effectively set off a few explosions that sent the men flying in seconds. Kelso took a leap over the table towards Lau, catching her ankle at the last moment and bringing the woman to the ground.

“You think you can win, Kelso?” Lau was trying to distract Alani but she wasn’t having any of it, effectively disarming the woman and headbutting her nose as soon as the assault rifle fell to the floor.

“Yes, I do,” Alani kicked Lau’s stomach with her knee and brought the woman upwards with her, trying to go for her jaw with an uppercut blow but Lau was faster and deflected the hit. “And you’re definitely going down together with your people.”

They wrestled with each other for a while, Lau desperate to go for Kelso’s stomach and neck while the rest of the team was trying to keep the other Black Tusk operatives off them. They were swarming in through the door, wave after wave of enemies coming towards them, guns blazing; luckily they weren’t able to use the Warhounds as support anymore. Kelso decided to trust the team with this and focus on Lau; there was no way she was going to let that bitch get away.

Unfortunately Lau was also a trained operative and it wasn’t easy to overpower her; Kelso reached for her knife nonetheless and tried to go for the woman’s shoulder. The first swing was a failure, but the second went into her flesh like it was butter, Lau’s pained grunt echoing in the office. She stumbled backwards and Kelso went for her face, hitting her with powerful blows again and again, probably dislocating a tooth or two. She wasn’t going to stop, Lau deserved this, all of this.

What ultimately made her stop was a bullet that went through her shoulder, a scream that escaped her lips both angry and surprised. She turned around to see a Black Tusk operative being tackled to the ground by Joaquin, the man shooting him in the head. Her sidearm was laying on the floor so she reached for it, Faye Lau unconscious and falling to the ground with a loud thud. She put her sidearm back into the sheath and made sure to secure Lau in a way that would immobilize her should she wake up; she bound her wrists and legs together, using duct tape to shut her up as well, just in case.

Kelso sat down on the floor to take care of her wound; the bullet went through and it didn’t hurt much, but it was still an inconvenience that she didn’t plan for. Serrano jumped behind cover right next to her; she was surprised to see him there.

“You okay?” she asked, looking towards him; Serrano was aiming with his assault rifle, shooting at a few Black Tusk operatives trying to make their way towards them.

“I am,” he said between magazines. “But you’re going to need help. Kestrel and Magnus are on their way here.”

“Coming back for Lau?”

“I think so. Still, we’re pinned down here. There’s no way we’re getting out of here the way we came.”

“We need to shoot our way through.”

“Yeah. But it’s going to take time.”

Kelso groaned and reached behind herself with the one arm that was still in good shape; the sniper rifle was still there and she was going to need it again.

Shame time was one of the things they didn’t really have.

***

Anna slumped down to the floor next to Dragov, making sure to get as close as possible to avoid the need to move too much. He could see that she was in a lot of pain; mostly because of her expression that made her look a lot like a ghost, but also because of how much she was shaking.

“You done, Cupcake?” he asked, turning his head a little to look at her more closely. Her lips were pale and there was sweat on her forehead when she reached for the water bottles she gave him a while earlier.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice pained and strained. “We got everything we need. They're coming for us as soon as they’re done with Faye Lau.”

“Your leg?”

“I don’t wanna look at it. I’m not sure what’s broken, it’s either the tibia or the fibula. Although if I had to judge by the pain level, I’d say both.”

Dragov tried to smile but something was wrong with his face, so he gave up before he managed any kind of grimace. He didn’t want to add to her discomfort.

“So we got what we came for?”

“Yeah. I mean, as soon as they get Faye Lau. She may be just icing on the cake at this point, but it’s still Faye fucking Lau.”

“Good.”

She fumbled with one of the bottles for a while, unscrewing the cap and reaching for his shoulder. He knew she told him to rinse the wounds, but he wasn’t able to do that. She unclasped the stripes holding his chest plate in place and took it off, tearing the material where it was still covering his shoulder. He could see that almost the entire front of his shirt was covered in blood, so he closed his eyes. He didn’t want to look.

“I’m going to pour some water on your wounds,” she said, her voice shaking almost as much as her fingers when she went for his hip, unzipping his pants in the process.

“There are easier ways to get in my pants, you know. All you had to do was ask.”

“Shut up.”

No laugh, no usual eye roll, no scolding. He could tell that it was bad. He knew that he was bleeding profusely and that he required immediate medical attention. But Joaquin wasn’t there and all he could hope for was his swift arrival in the server room. But he knew that the team was engaged in combat, he knew that they were going after Faye Lau. He also knew that as soon as Anna was done with her job and the data transfer back to Haven they were no longer a priority.

When Anna poured the water over his wounds it made him hiss in pain, suddenly remembering the exact moment the axe dug into his skin. Damn this fucking Hunter. He should have known that there was something wrong with Wilkins. He should have seen it coming. She was asking too many questions, but they were too busy taking care of other things. Who knows how much information she managed to sneak out of Haven. Who knows how long it has been going on.

He felt cold water running down his skin and it was actually surprisingly soothing, except for the part when it actually got into the wounds. 

“Talk to me,” he heard Anna’s panicked voice coming through to him, bringing his mind back to what was actually going on. As soon as she was done with the rinsing she drank the remaining water and handed some to him as well. He was grateful for the soothing feeling of cold water running down his throat.

“About what?” he was surprised to hear that his own voice was barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know. Anything. I’ll even tolerate your stupid jokes.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It’s bad, yeah.”

Well, at least she wasn’t lying to him.

“How bad?”

“The cuts are not that deep, it doesn’t look like any internal organs are damaged. Especially where she got your hip. But the shoulder looks nasty. There were bone pieces in the wound, probably from your collarbone. I hope I managed to get all of them out.”

He sighed. Perfect. Now that his legs were finally getting better, the fucker just _had_ to get this shoulder too.

“So what’s the worst part?”

“You’re losing blood. Will you be able to put pressure on the wound?”

“I’m not sure.”

“We have to try. And I’m going to need your Stinger Hive.”

“For what?”

“I need something to pull the skin back together. To stop the bleeding. The micro-drones should work fine until Joaquin gets here.”

“Wait… what?”

“The wings are made of thin wires. It’s our best option right now.”

Anna tore his shirt away completely, leaving his chest bare and suddenly very cold, exposed to the air in the room. She separated the cloth into two pieces, stuffing one inside the wound on his shoulder. It hurt like hell, but he just gritted his teeth and decided to focus on something else.

“Seriously, woman,” he said, trying his best to sound the way he always did. “I didn’t know you were so fierce. You rip Theo’s clothes apart too? Is that what you two are into?”

“No,” she answered fast, reaching for his other hand and bringing it to the wound. “Theo is the most gentle and sweet man I ever met. Not that you would know anything about being sweet and gentle. Hold this.”

“I can be _very_ sweet when I want to,” he answered, trying his best to push on the cloth but failing miserably, judging by Anna’s expression. “I just usually don’t want to.”

“Figures,” her voice was shaking and he could see tears in her eyes. Fuck. Was it really that bad?

She reached for the Hive still attached to his backpack and pulled a few micro-drones out of the casing, taking them apart with her fingers. He watched her closely, internally grateful for having something to focus on.

“So you’re going to take those things apart or what?”

“I am,” she answered, already done with the first micro-drone. “It’s not going to work for the arm though. But it should be enough for the hip.

He looked down for a second and noticed a gash just above his waistline, red around the edges and pretty deep, but not bleeding much anymore. He moved his head to look at Anna again, not wanting to spend too much time dwelling on the injuries.

“So what about the arm?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

She had no idea what to do. He could hear it in her voice, but he wasn’t going to admit it.

When the wire punctured his skin right over the wound, he hissed with pain again, the sensation anything but pleasant.

“Sorry,” she said, twisting the wire a little to make sure that it will hold. “I don’t have anything that would work as a painkiller.”

“It’s fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’ve been through worse.”

“I know.”

She went in with a few more wires, probably six or seven, before she sighed contentedly and moved her attention back to his shoulder.

“Give it to me,” she said, reaching for the cloth still wedged in the wound, adding the second piece too. “I’ll hold it.”

“And what?”

“And we’re going to wait for Joaquin.”

He wanted to protest but Anna moved again, sliding against the wall on his other side, pushing his body to the front and wriggling a little to get behind him, grunting with pain whenever her broken leg connected with the floor. When she was finally situated against the wall behind him she slowly laid him down in her lap, making sure that the hip wound was secure, and pushed down on the shoulder wound to apply as much pressure as possible. It was a little weird to suddenly be laying on top of her stomach, but it was probably much easier for her to push down on his wound that way. Although he had to admit that it was much more comfortable than sitting against the wall.

“You think Theo is going to be happy about you getting all handsy with me?” he said, suddenly feeling very exposed with the way she was looking directly into his eyes. There was no way to hide from her worried look except by closing his eyes and he was kind of afraid to do that.

“To save your life? I think he would be fine with that. Although I can’t be sure.”

He sighed. This was no time to go for jokes. This was a time to make some things straight.

“Listen,” he said after a while, his throat incredibly dry. “I have to ask you a favor.”

“No favors. You’re going to do your job yourself.”

“Come on. You know it’s important.”

She shuddered a little and he could feel it against his back. She knew what this meant. And she knew that it was serious. But he could also understand why she was trying to pretend that it wasn’t.

“I know. That’s why we’re going to get you safely back to Haven and everything will be fine.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I do.”

“No you don’t.”

Another shudder went through her body and he almost felt like he could cry. The tears weren’t coming though. Even at a time like this, he was so used to pretending that he was much tougher than he actually was that the tears were blocked with a lump somewhere in his throat.

“You’re right,” she said, her voice shaking. “I don’t.”

He saw that she was crying and that tears were falling down her face, landing on his cheek. It suddenly hit him that nobody has ever cared about him enough to cry for him in his entire life. Not his father, not his mother, not his friends.

Just her.

“Hey Anna,” he said, trying to catch her attention as she suddenly found the wall in front of them very interesting. “Look at me.”

She turned her head a little to oblige, but it was a gaze so full of pain he almost wished she didn’t. It wasn’t just physical pain though, it was something much deeper, much more profound.

She was genuinely afraid of losing him.

“Did you just call me by my name for the first time in your entire life?”

Oh God, he did. He actually did. He didn’t even realize.

“Maybe. Depends whether it’s good or bad.”

“It’s weird. I don’t think I ever want you to do it again.”

“Sure, Cupcake. It’s your call.”

She laughed a little and it made him feel strangely at peace. Maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad, he thought. He’s done so much, he’s built so much. And Dogman would make a fine leader of the Rikers. Probably a much better one than he could ever turn out to be. Maybe it was supposed to be this way, he thought. Maybe it would be for the better.

But he really, _really_ didn’t want to go.

“Joaquin will be here soon,” he heard Anna whisper, her voice still shaking. But she probably said it more to console herself than to console him. She knew it wasn’t happening. There was no way to tell when they were going to be here and with their communications cut off, there was no way for her to call and ask.

But Dragov understood why she said that. She didn’t want him to worry. She really was a good friend.

“For what it’s worth, Cupcake,” he said, suddenly feeling cold and lost, darkness creeping around him in a way that was both frightening and comforting. “I’m glad it’s you.”

She leaned in to press her forehead against his. If he ever had a choice, he would have never done that to her - not like this, not here. But hell, dying in the arms of probably the only person who cared about you enough to cry when you’ll be gone? There are worse ways to go.

And he was taking whatever he could get.

“Me too,” she whispered and fuck, he could feel that she actually meant it. It finally made the invisible dam in his throat let go and tears started flowing down his face, quiet sobs leaving his lips in a way that was strangely liberating. So he let it out, he let it all out, finally feeling like he didn’t have to pretend to be someone he was not. He was scared and it was perfectly fine. “It’s okay, James.”

He gathered all the remaining strength he had left and reached upwards to place his hand on her head, sliding his fingers through her hair. He knew what she meant and it made all the difference in the world. It was okay for him to let go.

The last thing he felt before he let this strangely comfortable darkness swallow him up was her lips against his forehead, pressing into his skin in a kiss so soft and warm it almost felt unreal.

***

When Joaquin entered the server room a little more than two hours later, he was sure that both Anna and Dragov were dead.

As soon as the door opened he saw Anna sitting against a wall, her forehead pressed against Dragov’s as his body laid lifeless on top of hers, blood everywhere - even on their faces. He felt his heart sink because none of them seemed to move or breathe. Frankly, it might have been the most gut-wrenching scene he’s seen in his entire life. He was next to them in seconds, taking his backpack off with hands trembling so badly he wasn’t even sure that he was the one moving them at all. He felt tears prickling behind his eyelids but managed to blink them away, knowing that he couldn’t allow himself this moment of weakness now.

And then Anna took a sharp breath, pulling her head up and looking him right in the eyes with a gaze so empty that it made him hold his breath.

It was all a blur after that. Checking for Dragov’s pulse - it was weak, so weak, but it was still there, prying him away from Anna’s arms and her scream echoing through the room, Kelso and Marta next to her, holding her down by her arms, noticing the wound she was keeping pressure on and asking Barkworth to do it in her stead. Dragov needed blood and he needed it now, there was no use in waiting, it could have been a matter of minutes, seconds, so he started rummaging through his trauma kit and of course he was going to give him his own blood, as much of it as he could spare. He knew all Haven’s inhabitants’ blood types by heart, he knew he could be a donor for Dragov. He thanked the Heavens or whatever entity was keeping watch over him that day that he had packed the transfusion kit, that he had needles and tubes ready in his pouch, that the tiny silver tube was there, the stupid tube that Javier made fun of because _it was probably going to kill him before he manages to use it correctly_. He remembered what happened after that in pieces, like short movie clips played one after another - making an incision in Dragov’s wrist to go for the radial artery, threading it through the tube to make sure that its end was rigid, laying down next to him to make sure that they were both on the same level. He’s only seen Crile’s method in instruction movies and he was hoping that he remembered it well enough, at the same time going back to his initial thought that he was really hoping he would never have to actually use it. Apparently life had a way of playing tricks on him. He wasn’t going to let fear stop him though; too much depended on it.

He could see with the corner of his eye how the Peacekeepers placed Anna on a stretcher to carry her back to Haven; apparently Paul Rhodes sent them over just in case because of their lack of contact. Wait, was he seeing some Rikers too? The comms were back online as they brought a portable radio with them, but Kelso was the only one who was coherent enough to talk to the team back at Haven at this point. Anna was sobbing uncontrollably in a way he’s never seen her before; her entire body was shaking and she seemed absolutely devastated, but no other sound left her mouth after the initial screams when they were trying to pull Dragov away from her arms. There was blood on her face and on her clothes, in her hair, on her arms and hands. Joaquin had no idea if she had any serious injuries except for the bone fracture, but Kelso and Marta were fussing over her now, so he was planning to focus solely on Dragov.

He had no idea how long he laid there, allowing his blood to flow straight into Dragov’s artery, but at some point he could see color returning to the man’s face and he’s never felt so relieved in his life. He was only hoping that this amount of blood would be enough to stabilize him until they get him to Haven. They weren’t going to lose anyone else. Not on his watch.

He removed the tubes and needles, wrapped some bandage around his arm where he pushed the needle in and tried standing up slowly, his head swimming a little, but it didn’t seem too bad. Barkworth was still keeping pressure on the wound and it was then that Joaquin noticed the other laceration on Dragov’s hip, held together with something similar to wires instead of stitches, surprisingly clean and even. If Anna did that, he had to ask her how. She only had some basic medical equipment in her medkit and they definitely never used anything that looked even remotely similar.

With that and the way she took care of Dragov’s shoulder, she might have just saved the man’s life.

He instructed a team of Peacekeepers and Rikers on how to best carry Dragov back to Haven and they rushed it as much as possible, leaving ahead of him to get there as fast as they could. It was only a little more than an hour for a slow walk; they should be able to get there in around forty minutes if they go faster.

He went outside of the building, feeling the urge to catch some fresh air. It was only a few minutes after noon, the sun high up in the sky, the air crisp and fresh and such a welcome remedy for his straining lungs. He really wanted to smoke, but figured it might be best to go for an energy bar instead, so he sat down on the stairs and reached into his pocket.

No energy bar had ever tasted that good.

Marta sat down next to him a moment later, looking at him with questioning eyes.

“You okay?” He asked, his throat still a little sore, adrenaline leaving his system slowly and making him a little sleepy.

“No,” she said, turning away from him to look at the horizon. “We… For a while there, I was sure that we lost Anna and Dragov as well.”

“So was I,” Joaquin admitted and immediately felt relief wash over him. “But we didn’t.” At least not yet, he thought, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud, not to her.

“Is Dragov going to make it?”

“I don’t know. I did everything I could. The medical team at Haven is going to have to stabilize him with a lot more blood. Besides, that shoulder wound looked nasty.”

Marta shuddered a little; Joaquin wondered if it was because of what he said or because of the cold wind blowing just outside the building.

“I… I don’t think I could take losing anyone else,” she said after a while, reaching into her chest pocket and pulling out a piece of paper Joaquin found out to be a picture of Meyer. “It’s the only thing we have left, you know. This lousy picture I took just a few hours before he… before Wilkins killed him.”

“You think it was her?”

“Of course I do. There was no way he could’ve been caught off guard otherwise. You wanna know the worst part? I was fucking _nice_ to her. I made sure she felt welcome in Haven. I didn’t want her or Barkworth to feel left out just because they were SHD. And how does she repay us? How does she _fucking_ repay us?! By killing one of our own?!”

Joaquin stretched out his arm and placed his hand on Marta’s shoulder, trying to calm her down. He could understand all the emotions, all the anger. But he wasn’t ready to deal with it now. He wasn’t ready to try and talk about it. Neither was he ready to admit the fact that if Wlkins managed to infiltrate SHD, there might be more like her. No. He was refusing to occupy his mind with those thoughts. He needed to rest and he needed some peace and quiet.

But Marta needed his support and he was ready to deliver as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her in for a hug, using his other arm to keep her tight against his chest. She placed her head against his shoulder and relaxed, exhaling a long breath that she must have been holding for a while now.

“It’s going to be fine,” Joaquin said, whispering into the top of her head. “We’re going to get through this.”

“I know,” she answered quietly, obviously trying her best not to burst into tears. “I know.”

Strangely enough, Joaquin felt that they both somehow believed it.

***

Joaquin wasn’t surprised that Anna didn’t want to see Dragov back at Haven. They managed to stabilize him but he was still unconscious and very weak after losing so much blood. The damage to the shoulder was also very hard to mend as part of his clavicle was gone, resulting in the team having to repair it with other materials. The muscles were torn, the wound was deep. It was one of the most infuriating injuries Joaquin ever had to work with. Still, he and the team did the best they could with what they had. The scar was going to be awful, but honestly, it wasn’t that big of a price to pay for being alive.

“You saved his life, you know,” Joaquin said to Anna a week after they managed to push the Black Tusk out of New York, Peacekeepers and the Rikers preparing the United Nations building for their own use. “You stopping the bleeding and keeping pressure was the only reason why I was able to help him.”

Anna was sitting on a bench in one of Haven’s briefing rooms, her leg in a cast that was supposed to help it heal faster without unnecessary irritation, going through the data she managed to collect. There was so much of it that she and Theo had to find ways to organize it without reading through all of it - at least for now.

“So what,” she answered, her expression still blank, not looking directly at Joaquin.

He sighed. She was very hard to talk to ever since they came back.

“So he’s stable.”

“But he still hasn’t woken up.”

“No. But he’s very weak. He needs time.”

“Right.”

He didn’t know what would be the right question to ask. So he decided to go for the simplest one he could think of.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No,” she answered fast, turning away from him; she would have walked away if she could.

Joaquin sighed and approached her, sitting on the bench right next to the files she placed there for review. He was staring at her intently and she finally turned towards him, looking him in the eyes.

“You sure?” He asked, trying to muster a sympathetic smile.

“I’m… Joaquin, please,” she said, her expression suddenly turning into something undecipherable. “I did my best to save him. I had no idea what I was doing. I could have done more harm than good. And I was so fucking scared, okay? And it hurt _so much_ ,” He could see it in her eyes now, she was still scared. He wanted to console her, to say something that would make her feel better. But he had no idea what to say. “I felt him die. I was sure that he was dead and that I was sitting there for at least an hour holding a bloody corpse of my close friend. But I still kept pressure on the wound because I thought that maybe, just maybe, by some miracle this would have been enough. I don’t… I don’t think I have slept since, Joaquin. I keep repeating all this in my head. Every single minute of this torture.”

He nodded. He understood. He was no psychologist, but he knew how badly something like that could damage someone’s head.

“But it was enough, Anna,” he said, making sure to be looking her straight in the eyes. “It was enough. What you did was more than enough. The way you sutured his other wound? That was incredible. And there was nothing else you could’ve done. You did good.”

“But he might still die!” she almost screamed and Joaquin was a little taken aback. “I… to me, he already died once. In my arms. In that fucking server room. I’m not going through this again. I’ve had enough.”

If there was one moment when Joaquin felt like he could really use the power to read the minds of his friends, it would have been then. He really wanted to say something to make Anna feel better, to make her realize that she should have been proud of herself, not beating herself up over what she no longer could control.

But he couldn’t. And it hurt him almost physically.

***

Dragov woke up after more than a week, his entire body in pain he couldn’t believe was physically possible. That meant he wasn’t dead. Surprising. But where the hell was he?

All the events started coming back to him slowly as soon as he managed to open his eyes. He was in a server room with Anna. They fought with a Hunter - that fucker _Wilkins_ \- and her leg was broken. It was pretty bad. And then they… and then he…

His head started to hurt and he had to close his eyes again. He suddenly felt a hand on his arm.

“Hey,” a voice came from what sounded like a metal box, submerged deep in the water and very far away. “Dragov, look at me.”

He tried opening his eyes again but the headache was not helping. He turned his head to the side - a task that seemed almost impossible - and opened his eyes a little. It was Joaquin sitting next to his bed. Wait, could it mean that… that they actually found them in time?

“Is… she…”

He wanted to ask about Anna but couldn’t, his throat incredibly sore and his voice definitely not listening to him. Luckily Joaquin seemed to understand what he was trying to ask. As he lifted a water bottle with a straw to Dragov’s lips, he looked him directly in the eyes.

“Anna is fine,” he said, holding the bottle high enough so that Dragov wouldn’t choke. Water was doing wonders for his throat though; he remembered not to drink too fast, but he really wanted to. “We put her leg back together. It’s going to leave a scar, but she’ll be okay.”

Oh God. He remembered now. He remembered what they talked about when he was still sure that he was going to die. How she said that it was okay for him to let go. How he cried. How he felt at peace even though just a minute earlier he was scared shitless.

He needed to see her. He needed to make sure that she was alright with his own eyes.

“I want… to talk to her,” he said, water helping his throat a lot more than he would have thought.

“I’ll ask her,” Joaquin put the water bottle away and looked Dragov in the eyes again. “But she’s… she’s not feeling well. Mentally. She was sure that you died, you know.”

“I know,” he said, trying to fight the headache again. “That’s why I need to see her.”

Joaquin sighed and stood up, leaving the medical wing. Dragov could hear his boots against the floor, he could hear every single step until the sound was finally gone. He felt like shit. But he was alive. He still didn’t know how he was feeling about it though.

After what seemed like eternity he heard footsteps again, this time sounding a little strange. Oh, right. Anna probably wasn’t able to walk on her own. So she was coming to see him after all? Good. He needed to see her, even for just one second. He knew Joaquin told him she was fine, but he really needed to see it with his own eyes.

He won’t be able to be at peace otherwise.

He noticed her come in with Theo supporting her with an arm around her waist and they were by his bed in seconds, Anna leaning against him and placing her hands on his cheeks. The look in her eyes was something he couldn’t understand but he kept looking, unable to close his eyes even for a quick blink. She was there, she was fine. She really seemed to be okay.

Except she was crying, but those were obviously happy tears. He didn’t know how he could tell, but somehow he just could.

“You stupid fuck,” she said, pressing her forehead against his. “I was sure that you...that you were dead.”

“So was I,” he answered, closing his eyes and succumbing to the feeling of her warm hands against his skin. He didn’t need anything else. At least he thought so, but then Theo was next to him too, reaching out to place one of his hands on top of Anna’s and wrapping them both in an embrace that was surprising, but not unwelcome. The realization hit him like a freight train, suddenly making his chest feel a lot warmer.

Anna wasn’t the only one who cared about him enough to worry. Theo was worried too, and so was Joaquin. Hell, Dogman would probably be a little sad too, considering that he was one of the few people he could call his friends.

His friends and his family.

He smiled and allowed himself to feel this, to enjoy this moment of connection that he never thought he would have. Anna and Theo sat next to his bed, Theo going on and on about how Anna was devastated with what happened, how she couldn’t sleep, how she was scared for him every single day. Anna would silence him from time to time, but listening to them talk, seeing them comfortable with each other was all Dragov could hope for. He loved both of them. Seeing them happy meant everything for him.

Theo left after half an hour but Anna stayed longer, moving a little closer with the chair she was sitting on and reaching for Dragov’s hand, squeezing it gently. He squeezed back with as much force as he could muster.

“I really… fuck, I really thought that you were dead,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes with an expression that suddenly made him feel very vulnerable.

“I thought so too,” he admitted, hoping that the smile he was trying to go for would make her feel a little better. “When you said that… you know, that it was okay… I just let go. And I felt strangely at peace. I really thought that was it. And I… I didn’t want to do this to you. But I was happy to have you next to me.”

She smiled at him as well and Dragov could tell that she was feeling more relaxed with every passing minute. God, he was so glad that he didn't die. Not just because it would be scary to be gone - also because he now realized that she would have beaten herself up over it. Even though she was the one to save his life.

“I was scared that I didn’t do enough. That I fussed too much over my leg and couldn’t focus. You know, it really _did_ hurt like hell. I don’t think I ever felt that kind of pain.”

“I can imagine,” he answered with a sigh. “But Joaquin told me what you did. You saved my life. If it wasn’t for you, I probably wouldn’t be here. So just own it, okay? Because you should.”

She laughed a little under her breath and Dragov laughed as well; unfortunately the laugh made the skin around his shoulder wound pull a little. He surprisingly noticed that the pain was much easier to swallow now. Just a dull ache somewhere under his skin, nothing to be too concerned about.

But he was feeling weak, so weak and tired that it almost made him unable to move at all.

“You’re probably right,” she said, almost as if she just realized exactly what happened, exactly _what_ she did. “I probably should.”

“That’s my girl.”

She smiled at him again and leaned in to place another kiss on his forehead, turning around and reaching for her crutches.

“I’ll see you around then. Take some rest now.”

“I will,” he answered, sleep already threatening to take him before she even left the room. “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she waved at him and made her way towards the door. “Stay safe, BFG.”

With that, she finally left, swaying a little because of the crutches - he would have made fun of her but he was too tired, too exhausted to even try.

But he was happy. And she was safe. Nothing else mattered at that moment.

***

It felt strange to be celebrating Christmas again - the year before turned into a tragedy exactly before the holidays, making people sick with the Dollar Flu, killing so many in the span of just a few weeks. But this year was different - it was full of hope, full of comfort. Of course it wasn’t perfect, nothing ever could be anymore. But this was strangely as close to perfection as anyone could have hoped for. Peacekeepers and civilians decorating Christmas trees, preparing symbolic gifts, singing Christmas carols and playing Christmas songs? It was an unusual sight, sure. But somehow it was so hopeful in its simplicity.

Paul Rhodes was standing in front of a Memo Wall that Marta Thorne started putting together after the infamous party they held at the beginning of December. Pictures of Haven’s inhabitants, of happy kids, of Rikers having fun. There was one of Dragov drinking straight from a bottle of vodka, one of Kelso being obviously angry at the photo being taken, one of Meyer smiling a shy smile, hell, even one of him drinking coffee from a chipped mug with a stern expression on his face. When did she even manage to take this photo? Oh, and there was one of Anna and Theo as well, Theo asleep against her shoulder while she was working on something. He sighed and turned away from the wall, already beating himself up enough over what happened. He might have been too proud - or too stupid, he wasn’t sure - to say anything earlier, but life has taught him a very important lesson recently. You can never know when it’s going to be too late to say what’s on your mind.

So he made his way to the basement where Anna and Theo would undoubtedly be, working on something important as usual. They were upgrading their defences now and working on some transmitters that could be installed in the UN building some time in January - they were probably going to have to move in there for a while, but it was worth it to have another communication hub. And there was so much tech that they took from there. It made their work a whole lot easier.

As soon as he walked down the stairs he noticed Alani Kelso talking to the pair, obviously excited about something. Wait… was she _laughing_?

“Oh, you can be sure that we all hated when he called Agents Sheriff,” oh, so they were talking about Manny now? “But he’s a nice guy. You would have liked him, Theo.”

“If he tried calling me _Sheriff_ once, I would have singed his eyebrows in his sleep,” Theo was obviously agitated as well, Anna’s laugh echoing in the background. “Seriously. There are some things that you just _don’t do_.”

It was then that they noticed Rhodes approaching and the conversation died down, everyone looking at him expectantly - including Kelso. Well, he had something to say to her too. Might as well get two birds with one stone if he was going to get emotional.

“Hey kids,” he said, trying to force himself to smile. “Having fun?”

Anna smiled back but her smile was very careful, unsure. He hated it. He hated the fact that he didn’t come to talk to her sooner. Somehow he just couldn’t do it before. He worried about her a lot, worried that she would get injured in the field. She did, but she also proved that she could hold her own. And he knew to what extremes she had to go to save Dragov’s life. It made him so proud of her, but he never said it.

He should have said it.

“A little, yeah,” Kelso leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. “You okay, Rhodes?”

“Yeah. I just came here to apologize. I figured it was high time to finally talk to all of you.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Theo spoke fast, looking him directly in the eyes; sometimes he hated his guts and hated the fact that he was such a good kid. “We were all a little on edge and…”

“No,” he cut him off before he managed to say anything else. “No. I have _a lot_ to apologize for. Especially to you, Theo. I was an ass. I should have never spoken to you the way I did. I didn’t really mean it.”

Silence fell between them for a second and Anna reached over to take Theo’s hand, Rhodes taking comfort in the gesture as well.

“I know,” Theo answered, a small smile blooming on his lips. “I didn’t… I mean, I was a _little_ hurt. But I knew what you had to be going through. I was worried about Anna too. Unnecessarily, as it turned out.”

Anna smiled at Theo, the look in her eyes soft and loving. Rhodes sighed and moved a little closer, taking a seat right next to Kelso. 

“It was stupid of me,” he said, looking at Anna this time. “I knew you could hold your own. But I let my fears and worries cloud my judgement. You did far more than we could have ever hoped for _and_ you saved Dragov’s life. And I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

This time, her smile was much more sincere, much less reserved. He couldn’t have expected the relief that washed over him at the sight.

“Just to be fair,” she said, a little mocking undertone to her voice. “I _did_ get hurt pretty badly. My leg is really fucked up. Joaquin says I’ll be able to walk normally some time around the middle of January. And it’s driving me nuts.”

“As much as I don’t mind helping you around Haven,” Theo chimed in, smiling as well. “You could finally go for the wheelchair that Joaquin suggested. It would make our lives so much easier.”

“Oh, I’ll show you _easier_ ,” she blurted out laughing. “Wait until the next time you ask me for any help. I’m going to ask you to go to Joaquin as well, if he’s _so smart_.”

“That’s how you’re going to talk to the love of your life? I’m hurt, Anna. You just hurt my feelings.”

“Who told you you were the love of my life?”

“You did. Two days ago, when we were…”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Anna suddenly blushed and nudged Theo with her elbow. Rhodes laughed. They were going to be the death of him one day, but he adored them both so much. “Anyway. It’s okay, Rhodes,” Anna said after a while, letting go of Theo’s hand and focusing her gaze on him. “I know you. And I know you were just worried. I’m glad you finally decided to talk to me though. It was a little painful to see you avoiding me all this time.”

“Yeah,” he said, sighing deeply again. “That was stupid as well. But I’m not going to do that anymore. I don’t… we have important things to do here. I’m not letting petty arguments or my stupid ego get between us ever again.”

The smile that lit her face up at that was wonderful, making him feel warm despite the fact that it was pretty cold in the basement.

“Good,” she said, leaning in to place her hand on his where it was resting against the table. “I would hug you, you know, but I can’t really get up. So it will have to wait.”

“It’s fine,” Rhodes laughed a little, squeezing her hand tighter. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I’m glad you’re all okay. And I hope we’ll be able to keep it this way.”

“We will,” this time it was Kelso who spoke, her voice strangely warm and pleasant as well. “Because I talked to Manny and we might have an idea on how to organize the cooperation between SHD and Nova a little better. There are still a lot of things to do in New York. And something tells me you could use out help.”

“We could,” Rhodes admitted, turning in the chair to face her this time. “Especially now that we know what the Black Tusk are planning. We have a lot more information about their plans for DC as well. We could help each other. Especially after we set up the communication hub.”

“That’s what I was hoping for,” she answered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “We got Faye Lau and shipped her to DC on the first chopper, but there are still other BTSU operatives that we have to go after. And Sokolova? We need to look into this. As long as the Black Tusk are present in any part of the US, we’re not going to be completely safe. You have connections, we have the people. This could work, Rhodes. This could work _long term_.”

“I know,” he answered, suddenly feeling much more at peace. “And I would really like that. You’re a good friend, Kelso. That’s also something I wanted to say. And I might hate SHD, but I could never hate you. We’ll help you as much as we can. And we’ll get through this together.”

“That’s good to hear,” Kelso smiled a little, her facial expression softening even more. “Because I feel the exact same way.”

It might not have been perfect, no alliance ever was, but something kept telling Rhodes that this was the right way. That SHD was not just an organization, that it was mostly people. People like Kelso, Manny, some other Agents he met on the way. They were good people and they had good intentions.

And it has always been more than enough.

It was going to be enough now too.

_Signs the signs invisible_

_Trace the trail and follow you wherever you will lead me_

_To the heart of me and your spilling grief_

_To answer to a God who never answers you_

_Feathernest invest and gain_

_Shiny brass is milk and grain_

_And yours is to just sustain and chip away with haste_

_Treasure time and savour taste_

_And all the while you quietly crave and crave_

_The day is done_

_Time you've made has come and gone_

_Stay asleep now_

_Everyone into position_

_Everyone into their place_

_Grow to grow at snail's pace_

_Like carnivores at grace_

_Feed to feed and building face_

_Pay to play and find a place._

This part of my fanfiction also has a playlist set to fit the mood of each chapter. You can find it [right here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6AM98QAJbcFJZ9Hg2f43cs?si=x6Er4-z7TcWqqGsBTCCkGQ)!


End file.
